The Lighthouse Prologue: Love For A Fool
by Glory Nizenea
Summary: Some people are fools for love. Some people have love for a fool. And some people are about to have that fool's love tested by a soul-devouring atrocity. Epic Davis x Kari. COMPLETE.
1. Only a Mimicry

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Disani, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ **_Author's notes are usually at the end of each chapter._** Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Stand By Me" by Ben E. King, "Stand in the Rain" by SuperChick, and "I Do" by Yoko Kanno and Ilaria Graziano.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

Merriam Webster Online's definition of _Mimicry: _"**1**_:_ an instance of mimicking; the action, practice, or art of mimicking. **2**_:_ a superficial resemblance of one organism to the other or to natural objects among which it lives that secures it a selective advantage (as protection from predation)."

Davis's definition of _Mimicry:_ "Trying to be something you're not—a fallacy, a distortion of what Kari knows and wants and expects and _re_spects."

**Prologue Part I  
**..._Only a Mimicry._..

Rain.

Falling in tiny tinkering splatters, like lightshards shooting—descending—gravitating from the rumbling clouds of Heaven's gray fury. They twisted and entwined within the world's atmosphere, melting from their icicle exterior and falling in droplets of warning.

_drp-drp_

Davis Motomiya once heard that it only rained when Heaven cried. Sometimes, the tears were light and gentle, as if the aether's inhabitants were smiling and laughing and crying only tears of bliss. Other times, the tears were heavy, arctic in their chilly wrath, filled with the acidic poison of hatred and despair. Rain was only a synonym for those tears – tears humans shared, tears that some humans even feared, tears that some humans even rejoiced.

_Drp-drp-drp_

Davis Motomiya also once heard that water was a symbol of washing away the old in order to make room for the new. It cleansed one's sins and ushered in a new era of change, a butterfly effect where the cocoon peels from skin and releases the wings of a creature reborn into a drizzle of life.

_Drrrrrp_

Even so, Davis Motomiya couldn't help but to smile wryly at the billowing gales of sharp wind, at the rolling cumulus thundering blue lightning and red sparking electricity, at the tears he wanted to hide amongst the Heaven's own but was unable to because Davis's tears were no one's but his own.

Davis never tried to hide his tears before.

He hated hiding anything.

Everyone knew everything about Davis (except for a few embarrassing secrets that Jun always blabbed about), and he never had a problem with it. If people wanted to be his friend, they could take it or leave it. Ever since MaloMyotismon's defeat, making friends became a lot easier—more people knew him—more people saw past the arrogance and cockiness, and saw the young man within. A man who would never give up, even when the going was tough. He wouldn't get going, because he was already gone. Davis loved everyone, even those he seemed to hate. He didn't necessarily _get along_ with everyone (chaps like TK and the Poi Brothers instantly came to mind), but he cared for them. Davis, as the wielder and epitome of courage and friendship, could not afford to hate anyone, even those who turned his life into the hellish escapade it became the day Heaven cried.

Flashes of what brought him to this moment rung inside his mind, riveting and thrilling yet boring holes into a soul he made bright and cheery. It seemed like only hours ago when he was encouraging Cody to join the soccer team, only minutes ago when the sun reached its shining zenith and beads of sweat drizzled down his temple, only seconds ago that he was standing beside the best slices of his core: Ken, Kari, TK, Cody, and Yolei... Yet, here, in this moment, darkness ruptured their sunny day and brought with it the temporary oblivion of war.

It came suddenly.

Hours ago, a hole ripped between dimensions and brought with it the darkest of virus creatures – some digimon weren't even virus attributes, yet had a shadowy lust prevailing a soul ripe with rife. Immediately, bloodlustful digimon spewed into the Earth's atmosphere, bringing with them the tremulous roar of chaos. Earth began its swift descent into confusion, and though the Destined fought to keep order amongst Earth's civilization, none of them could control it all. Last Davis saw of any of the Destined, Tai had told him to follow Kari into the dark pits of Odaiba's nearby woods, TK's chest met the prickling claws of Devimon's hand, Ken was bearing down a cackling Myotismon set to make his life end, Yolei was taking on three digimon at a time and ripping them apart like sandcastles in July, and Cody was using his supreme kendo skill to join his grandfather in a duo of blades and blazes against the corrupt digimon. The older generation surrounded them all, yet each had beckoned their own personal battle that drew their attention away from an internal affair that now only Davis could stop.

As rain splattered and soaked his clothes, his boots, his hair, Davis's mind was laced with a million questions. Who opened a pathway between dimensions and consumed Earth in the dark grip of corrupt digimon? What did they want with the world? Though Earth knew about digimon and mostly everyone had a partner (though not everyone was necessarily a Destined), would the mere ability to have partners be enough to stop the thousands of digimon descending from the sky? And Kari...

Davis bit his bottom lip in thought.

He thought that maybe if he wasn't sick, he could've stopped it. Maybe, if he hadn't had a fever, he could've somehow repaired the dimensional rip or bargained with the ripper in order to stop the world's chaos. Maybe... perhaps... if he wasn't so sick, so slow, so freaking _naïve_, he could've somehow saved the friends he'd lost and would lose.

He shouldn't have been crying—he should've been strong—courageous—because that was the only thing he was capable of, right? That was what he represented, the two virtues at the core of his innate capabilities, right?

_Right?_

He had to be strong... for _her_.

Davis Motomiya was only sixteen, yet somehow, at that moment, as he stared at Kari Kamiya, he felt so much older. So much—weaker—than how he used to feel.

Powerless.

_Drp-drp_

Rain was falling all around them, cascading and streaming down their frozen flesh. Davis felt a breeze tug at his hair and loose pieces of clothing, briefly distracting him from the pains of their current predicament to consider everything that was about to happen.

She—Kari, the bearer of light and all things bright—was breaking. Darkening. Shifting into a shattered reflection of the being she once was.

Davis could still remember a few months ago, when their friendship had taken a sharp shoot toward confidants. Davis caught her at the absolute worst time, before she could curl up in the arms of her brother or run to the house of her best friend. Back then, she was shaking horribly, her body a jolt of frustration and fear. _"Davis..."_ she began, her bottom lip trembling. _"I've been hearing this voice in my head..."_ Her face was pale and placid, moist with fearsweat and wasted adrenaline. _"I think... it's from the Dark Ocean."_ She rested her palm against her forehead, tears filling her eyes. _"I think it's calling me there again, but I don't want to go, and every time I hear it... it gets stronger and stronger. I don't think I can suppress it this time, Davis." _

She'd been so scared... more scared than Davis had ever seen her. He'd heard many things from TK when Kari was first brought to the Dark Ocean, like how afraid she was of Dagomon's call, and the words she'd gathered from the dark creatures who thrived there. But he'd never witnessed it, himself, and the knowledge of that fear rippling in her eyes caused an echo of dread that tenfolded within his own heart. _"The voice won't leave me alone, and I don't want to go there again... I don't want... anything. Oh God, Davis, what am I going to do?"_

Thus, lo and behold, Davis stood before an angry and frightened Kari Kamiya. She was holding her temples, shaking her head—he knew in that instant that, in the last few months, the voice hadn't left her once. She'd lived for more than 90 days with that guttural growl that infiltrated the inner-sanctum of her psyche, pinning and jostling and growing like a tumor inside her cerebral cortex. And now, at the pinnacle of Earth's descent into madness, Kari Kamiya had descended along with it.

Though she wouldn't admit it, Davis knew the rain was hiding her tears, as well.

"Kari..." he whispered. His fingertips traced the line of her face, the rain filtering into the gaze of her doe brown eyes. He smiled softly, as if to encourage her, but she only clasped her cheeks with the heel of each hand, her eyes widening into bulges of white with a needletip-pupil in each eye.

Davis could remember Oikawa five years ago; at the time, he'd seemed so brittle, his body breaking away into light, his soul restoring into the guardian of a world he'd longed to be a part of since he'd lost his best friend. Even so, his voice, his presence, his very love was stronger than even the physical frailness of his broken body. In that instant, Oikawa had told the Destined that the powers of darkness would always fight the powers of light, but the powers of light would always conquer them. Always.

He wanted to believe that. There wasn't a thing he'd ever wanted to believe in more. But there was a part of him—a part that slithered into his heart and gripped it in a serpentine grip—that confirmed futile resistance, that it all wouldn't matter in the end, that _Davis_ didn't matter in the end, that _Kari_ never mattered in the first place.

_I don't want to believe that,_ Davis hissed inside his mind. _I refuse to! I can't let my friends down... I can't allow this evil to take my family... and most of all, I cannot—_will_ not—allow that asshole to take Kari away._

She shuddered in the crisp cold as a cloud of breath heaved from between her lips. She watched it flutter to the sky before lightly dissipating, reminding Davis all too well of the many digimon he'd seen destroyed in battle. He didn't want to see that happen ever again—he didn't want to see that happen to _Kari_.

"Make it stop, Davis." Her voice broke. Her knees wobbled before sinking to her muddy soil at their feet. Dirt splattered her clothes and face, her body trembling in all of its growing terror. "I can't—_stand_—it anymore. It—_It—_keeps saying things... It keeps—telling me—so many things—I don't matter—I'll never matter—I can't stop It—that the Dark Ocean will swallow me and destroy everything that I am, everything I've worked for, everything I represent... It keeps telling me that it'll rip you all to pieces, and I... I can't stop it!"

Davis hadn't realized it when he marched through the muck and the cold rain—through the thin sheet of fear standing between them—and wrapped his arms around her, quickly maneuvering her so that her face was pressed against the crook of his neck, his hands tightly wrapped around her shoulders and against her back. She momentarily shivered, the bulge of her forehead gently leaning against the smooth of his chest. He gritted his teeth and embraced her as strongly and as quickly as he could, as if to secure her and tell her and _show_ her that he wouldn't let anything happen—not to her, not to him, not to the others. He felt that if he held her, maybe, just maybe, she wouldn't disappear into the nothingness of the Dark Ocean.

"Don't let it take over you, Kamiya," he said firmly through clenched teeth. _"Never_ let that beast defeat you!"

"I can't stand it!" Tremors ran throughout her stone-cold body as she gripped her temples. Behind him, Davis could hear the low caterwauls of digimon who undoubtedly followed him into the woods, ready to rip and tear the two kids standing alone in the rain. Kari's teeth gripped into a half-scowl of red fury as her voice hissed, "Where's Gatomon? V-mon? Where are all the others? I can't—I can't _do_ this alone—Tai—TK—I can't—"

_drp-drp-drp_

Davis listened to the sound of rain pitter-pattering all around him.

_Drp-drp-drp_

He felt oxygen fill his lungs and weave with cells, felt the wind of change caress his cheek, felt the soft glow of Kari's presence illuminate the strength he held deep inside himself—it was a lumination that not even Kari was aware of, an invisible light that shed from her body and covered his own.

_drp-drp_

He watched the rain plummet into the soil, stain the tree leaves and soak the woodsy floor.

_Drp_

He listened. And listened. _And listened._

_dr_

And then the rain muted.

He couldn't hear Kari's shallow intakes of breath, couldn't tolerate the thump of his heart banging against his ribs, couldn't take away the sound of dropping tears as Kari curled and coiled in his arms.

In that moment, Davis reached forward, his fingertips brushing her skin to turn her face toward his own, his bated breath coming out in puffs of white air. He locked gazes with her, the knowledge of his raging pulse reminding him of fiery electricity, his blood pumping and making liquid heat throughout his teenaged body. Even so, as soon as his fingertips met her chin, everything was swift, rapid, ongoing; somehow swift, rapid, ongoing, yet... frozen, calm, tranquil.

Everything was racing. Everything was stationary.

Everything.

"Listen to me, Kari." He felt weak. Powerless. Even so, his voice was strong; strong as the man he fought to become in the years following MaloMyotismon's defeat to the current rain-drenched night. Strong as the men he admired (_Tai, Matt_) and the men he despaired (_the Digimon Emperor, MaloMyotismon_), strong as the Davis Motomiya he thought he'd only dreamed of becoming, strong as the man he was meant to be. "When darkness falls, you are the one link in a chain of shadows that will break past it all to create a lighthouse. A guide to those toward you. You're strong, Kari, stronger than you think you are. You don't need Tai or TK to be strong—you don't need me or Gatomon or Yolei or Cody or the others, or even your parents! If you don't believe in yourself, believe in me, believe in TK and Tai, believe in _Gatomon_, who all believe in you when you're unable to believe."

"Davis, I—I..." She shook her head, her shoulders shaking as her attempts to stop her tears failed miserably. Davis took that moment of momentum to clutch her cheeks in-between his callous hands, silencing her doubts as he gave her heart-warming smile only someone like Davis could conjure.

With a huff and a tilt of his head, his thumb lightly tracing her chin, he told her, "Close your eyes. Forget the world around you."

_Allow the rain to murmur to you._

"Davis—" Kari's eyes widened. She winced and grabbed her temples, voice a hoarse cry as a roar of thunder crackled in the oblivion sky. With a bolt of electricity, Kari did as Davis asked and squeezed her eyes shut, her hair billowing in the perilous winds as Davis smiled sadly from in front of her.

Davis hurriedly held her closer to him, his voice a whisper on the wind as he continued, "Shh, Kari. Imagine them right here, right beside you, and it's not me holding your face, but them. TK's here, protecting you from the Dark Ocean's grip. Tai is shushing the voice in your head. Gatomon is fighting away your fears. This isn't my voice, it's the voice of TK and Tai, of Gatomon and Yolei."

Kari's tense muscles loosened as Davis soothed them with the gentle ribbons of a quiet voice. She allowed for darkness to surround her, for the voices of her friends to fill her head as Davis advocated all of their thoughts and feelings. Davis could almost discern the shadows plaguing her, as if pulling her into a dimension he didn't think he could follow her into. Immediately, the darkness that surrounded Kari's bright light caused the hairs on Davis's neck to stand on end.

_This is bigger than me,_ he thought with clenched teeth.

_I can't let go like this,_ he begged his determination.

_I won't let her go like this,_ he confirmed.

"Hold on to me, Kari," Davis said, grip releasing her cheeks to instead clasp her shoulders and tautly hold them, disallowing her tremors to get a hold of her and cause her confidence to fall. He saw it happen multiple times in the past few months—he wouldn't let it happen again, over his dead body!

"Gatomon!" Kari screamed, her eyes still tightly shut. "Where's Gatomon!"

"She's right here!" His hand pressed against the center of her chest, inner-knuckles hugging her breastbone where he could feel the tremble of her heart echo throughout her body. "She's inside your heart, watching over you, looking after you. If I won't let you go back that easily, how do you think _she'd_ react?"

_She's knocked out,_ Davis's thoughts grumbled.

_She's knocked out and heading toward the emergency room._ He remembered Myotismon's shrill laughter as he brought a thunderous flock of high-pitched black screeches upon the cat digimon. Bats tore at her fur and forced her to step back, but that was the last step she took before Myotismon's red whip heralded an unconscious feline to become a mutilated version of her own self.

_Those digimon did a number on her. On her and V-mon._ V-mon had faced against a stark-faced Piedmon whose blades ripped into his face before he could even comprehend the war about to unfold. A second later and another blade pierced his chest, propelling clumps of blood to lurch from V-mon's wound and splatter across Davis's face. He couldn't save V-mon.

_Oh, V-mon... _His hand gripped his chest, his teeth gritting as he glared at the heavens above.

_Oh_, **V-mon**... His gaze wound toward Kari's closed eyes, and the fear twisted into her expression.

_It won't happen again,_ he thought. _I won't let them take away someone else I love._

"TK!" The ferocity of her voice sent jolts down Davis's spine. He snapped to attention, watching as her own hands now reached forward to grip his shoulders, her teeth in a hiss as she continued, "I—I need TK, Davis, please don't let me go there without him! I'm weakening... my power... my strength... my—_light_... it's fading, and he's the reason I survived last time. I can't go without him, please don't let me!"

_ker-_**thump**.

Davis's heart flip-flopped as his lips pulled back into a warm smile. He didn't know why, but in that second, all jealousy paled, all anger wavered, all thought vanished as Kari waited for an answer Davis knew he could regret later. At the same time, he knew something else: he would do anything to save Kari, even if it meant becoming only a mimicry.

"He's right here, Kamiya," Davis whispered, his voice an intimate coo in the harsh winds that surrounded them. He wanted to laugh at the irony, yet something inside stopped him, something that seethed at the idea of laughing at that opportune moment. Something that told him this was the one thing he could do to help her, and if it meant giving up everything he was, Davis was prepared to do it. "He will never let you go alone."

_TK is in the hospital._ He remembered Devimon's lancing claws. Remembered watching as his greatest rival was impaled by a swift thrust of those Herculean arms. He remembered Patamon's cry, and the howl of Matt as he joined TK's side to fight the darkness who finally garnered his revenge (a revenge he never deserved, a revenge Davis promised to one day negate as he joined hands with TK to prevent the darkness's inevitable battle against the forces of light).

_Does she love TK?_ He thought. At the same time, however, another part of him curled inside his chest and gutturally snickered, a part that loved the thought of Davis losing to the one person he swore he'd never lose to. That side of him smirked and said, _Does it matter? If you love Kari, then you'll do what you must to save her._

His heart hardened.

His throat tightened.

His muscles tensed.

_If you love her,_ he thought, _You'll learn to live without her._

And, finally, as he reached forward to grasp Kari's hands in his, Davis said it:

"He's right here." He pulled her hand forward through the sheet of rain between them, allowing her palm to pressure against his left breast where his heart raced against his pulse. "_I'm_ right here, Kari. And I will never leave you."

Her tears immediately halted, no longer forming, no longer falling. She hesitated, her body a ball of stress as her muscles refused to cooperate with her. Her tendons grew sore and unrelentingly stiff, the cold soaked into both her and Davis's bones, but there _was_ one plus in all of it.

Her eyes were still shut, awaiting the moment she could imagine her friends surrounding her and encouraging her to stray from the darkness and keep on the path to light.

"TK..." Her voice filled with relief. Kari even let out a small smile, tugging at the corner of her rosy lips. She felt the warmth radiating from Davis's chest, and allowed herself to imagine that TK was the one telling her to never fear the darkness of His Master's Voice. "I can't go to the Dark Ocean alone."

"I told you," Davis said as he pecked her on the forehead, holding her as tenderly as he imagined TK would. "I'll never let you go alone."

Rain.

It never seemed to end, never seemed to care, never seemed to know where it fell until it hit the ground. Until then, the droplets were fast and ready, their beat a crescendo into the thunderlight of the sky, a life that sped through the winds like bullets catapulting through the air. Rain was free. _Free_.

Though her tears had stopped only seconds before, they soon formed again—but this time, it wasn't out of fear or anger that she cried. Davis didn't exactly know _what_ emotion he saw spinning in her expression, only that her lips were curled into a half-ringlet of warmth and smiles, even as the teardrops rolled down the dimples on each corner of her cheek.

She then pulled her hand away from Davis's chest and turned her face toward the sky.

Listen, she seemed to say. Listen to the rain.

"Thank you," she said softly, "TK."

There was a flicker that flashed across her flesh, reminding Davis of a fuzzy television screen. The flicker buzzed like static, traveling to every pore, every cell, every memory in Kari's body. Davis didn't hesitate to rush forward again, his fingertips just barely brushing the cusp of her chin—but Kari merely opened her eyes to stare into the mercurial shift of his own, her tears falling like rain to the tips of her toes.

And, just like the floating data of a digimon carcass, Kari's body faded.

_Thank you... Davis._

"Kari—" He stood so fast he made himself dizzy. His fever was quickly catching up with him, as if he hadn't realized it before. He dazedly took a few steps forward, reaching out into the thin gray atmosphere above, toward the heavens with its clouds so dark they seemed black, and blue lightning that struck ground dozens of miles away. To the sky, he reached and reached, and _desired_; desired to shoot into the aether like some kind of rocket and travel to the world Kari was now in, yet, in all their icy glory, all he touched was rain.

When he no longer had the strength to hold his hand toward the sky, his arm dropped to instead clutch his chest, his lips slamming into a gravelly roar as his voice boomed as loudly as the thunder splitting the sky in two. "_**KARI**_!"

The darkness edged closer, and before Davis realized it, the heat rushed to his head and he fainted, a fever painting him as if he were a canvas.

.---.

_Hello, Motomiya Davis._

A voice coiled around his thoughts in an invisible embrace. He tried to see past the voice to the person within, to know whose warm arms encircled him like a mother's hug, but in the end, the only thing he saw was mounting darkness.

(Who are you?)

His voice echoed endlessly in the hall of darkness. He saw an illuminating white glow surround his body, allowing him to see only his five fingers twitching as he realized they were _real_, fingers that strained with strength as he opened his fist, then closed his fist, then opened and closed them again. His knuckles cracked, his muscles whined, his body floated endlessly in a pit of darkness he didn't recognize. Even so, he found himself entranced by the voice rippling across his psyche, catching his attention and holding it with every inkling of comprehension Davis had.

_Who am I?_ the voice gently soothed.

_My name is..._

(**Geneva**)

(Geneva, aye?

And why are you speaking to me?

Especially in my head?)

_Because you are the only one who can help Kari, and without Kari, the light will be defeated. The darkness will reign at last if the patron of its opposite dies._

(Kari...)

His bottom lip trembled as his fingertips dug into the cloth of his shirt. He let out a pained hiss as he stared into the nothingness that surrounded him, a nothingness that seethed and bit and hardened as he remembered the gentle smile of a girl he failed to save. He remembered her life, the way she raised her hand to cover her lips as she laughed; he remembered her voice, a melody he enjoyed.

(She's—beautiful—)

He hesitated. What was the "Geneva"'s intent in helping him? Was she like Azulongmon, a warrior willing to sacrifice anything to save the world? Or could she be someone else, someone wearing a mask with the desire to fake him out and would only backstab him later?

But then, he thought, what if he didn't have a choice? What if this was his only option, accepting the Voice's help?

When he remembered Kari's final tears, the way her lips curled into a sad yet sweet smile, the way she spoke as she thanked both him and TK, the way she faded into the atmosphere—remembering everything he loved about Kari Kamiya, Davis made his decision.

(How can I help?)

How, though?

He wasn't able to save her before... he wasn't able to do _anything_...

(I—I couldn't even stop her from going to the Dark Ocean! I couldn't stop what was playing with her mind! I couldn't— save her!)

Sobs.

Could he cry, even in his dreams?

There was a soft, gentle laugh, like a mother comforting her little boy. He felt a warmth envelop him then, as if someone had wrapped a blanket around him and shined a great light.

_There is still hope._

(Yeah. And he's always—before me.)

_But what is hope without courage to keep that hope burning?_

_What is hope without friendship to help?_

_What is hope without a miracle?_

(I...)

(Thank you.)

(Now tell me—what do I have to do...)

(...Geneva?)

_I will send you to the Dark Ocean, myself. From there, I will give you the weapon you need to defeat the evil lurking. You have one chance, Davis Motomiya._

_Do not let the light fade._

_Do not give darkness the chance to shine._

(Thank you, Disembodied Voice In My Head. I will always be grateful, and if there is anything I can do to make it up to you—)

_Just save her..._

_Save her and you will make up the gift I have given you._

.---.

When Davis Motomiya woke up, he did not remember the voice that had spoken to him. He did not remember her name, or the enigmatic aura she held—even the warmth she had given him. When he realized the brilliant gray waves clapping against the sandy shore were the waves of the Dark Ocean, there was only one thing that remained in his mind—only one thing that echoed—only one thing he knew:

Save Kari.

Or die trying.

.---.

**The Soul Sucker**

_He stared down at the world; at the people he labeled as soulless insects. He'd deny them all of their precious life, but not before he deprived them of the thing they needed most: their spirit, their ghost, their _**soul**.

-

**The Goddess of Moons**

_She'd journeyed searching for the role model she'd grown to love as a child. When that role model faded into oblivion's light, she faded into a dark hole that grew and expanded and became naught but future hells. In the end, she searches the world for the other half of her soul. Once she has found him, she will never let him go, never let another person fade. She'd lost her mentor, she'd lost her brother, she'd lost her mother, and someday, she'd lose her lover. Her other half was something—some_one—_she would not _**lose**.

-

**The Envious Abyssal Atrocity**

_He watched the Dark Master obliterate his family. He befriended Gennai, a guardian of lost souls. He ruled an empire of the seas, more gallant and triumphant than any city of the soil. And, when the humans spit in his face, he played a game of chess against the only friend he ever had. He's never lost a game to Gennai—but he's never won a game, either. When the chips are down and the epitome of light is within his grasp, who will claim the checkmate? Him, or the _**Destined**_?_

-

**The Wrathful Demon**

_He'd traveled to the ends of countless dimensions to find a cure to death; if he could find a way to cure death, then perhaps he'd find a way to resurrect the friends he'd lost. Perhaps, if he could find the infamous Dark Spore, just maybe, he would be able to gain the amity stolen from him, and maybe, just maybe, he could force the corruption of his lover to regain the memories taken. He'd restore his life, take over every dimension in his wake, and he would live to rain hell on the five sages who marred his name, his body, his soul, and his very _**hope**_._

-

One day, four lords of darkness would descend from the depths of a sealed hell.

And with them, all things would change.


	2. The Lighthouse

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer**: I do not own digimon or any of its brilliant characters. :) No infringement intended.

**The Lighthouse  
**_Prologue Part Two  
_... Love for a Fool ...

_**I want **_**you,**_** Miss Kamiya.**_

It was a hiss in the back of her mind. Kamiya Kari was never one to listen to voices; however, that slithering dolt of a bellow was nevermore annoying than it was then. She'd always had a knack for ignoring annoying voices (her brother's, for example; though she loved him dearly, older brothers had a tendency to annoy their younger sisters, just as younger sisters had a tendency to annoy their older brothers). But this voice...

It reminded her of gravel. Of glass popping in the middle of a car wreck. Two thin slices of titanium colliding and scraping against each other to make a shrill _screeeeeeeech_. It reminded her all too well of something that was both low, abysmal, and completely discordant, fused with the high-pitched frequencies of a bat cry and nails on a chalkboard. Perhaps it was the fact that the creature didn't speak with only one voice, but it spoke with _many_ voices, all talking at once, all saying the same thing, and all vocalizing at the same exact speed like dainty identical twins.

_**I'll have you,**_ the voice whispered. The sound ricocheted across her mind, turning her veins into crooked columns of icicles in the arctic chill. All at once, she could see the shadows bending and twitching around her—carcasses of stalagmites that twisted and fluttered at the thought of touching her, grabbing her, _breaking_ her—as if in response to the creature's deep, malignant voice. _**I'll eat you up, om nom nom, Miss Kamiya.**_

Without truly seeing the creature's face, Kari could already see the fermented bladed grin of a Cheshire cat in her mind; zigzagging and zealed; coiling and cauterizing across black rotting lips. She didn't need a tangible feature of the beast to know what he looked like. His voice said it all in an instant.

His _laugh_ said it all in a millisecond.

"You can't have me," she said quietly. She could hardly believe her voice escaped her quake-ridden body. Her vocals felt weak, frozen as the blood running through her veins (not literally, oh no, not at all, but if metaphors could be truth, then perhaps her esophagus would become a cylinder-shaped glacier; thick, clogged, so cold it's almost hot, frozen to the core), and her movements were even more glacial. Even so, her voice managed a small squeak as she grabbed her temples, her knees wobbling beneath her as she slowly began sinking to the Dark Ocean's gray sandy shore. In a voice that tore the riptide winds, she called out for the people who were always there when she'd needed them most. "Tai... TK! Save me. Please, save me! HELP ME! HELP—_help—_help... me..."

_Shhhhhhh_

The tides swept across the gray beads of sand, scratching away at the thin frail surface guarding the beads beneath. Wet sand ran smoothly up to Kari's knees, which buried deep into the sand and ruptured its velvety surface. She could feel the waves glide up the shore and lightly bob at her knees before pulling away, forever dancing between push and pull, push and pull, push and pull.

_Shhhhhhhhh_

Like a mother's lullaby. Listening to the waves, Kari thought of her own mother.

_Shhhhhh_

She saw her mother's gentle rosy lips. She saw as her mother smiled warmly; smiled a crescent moon that reminded her so well of warmth and sunshine, of gardens and spring.

_Shhhhhhh_

And she saw her mother bring her index finger lightly to those smiling lips, which perked and swelled into a pout as breath slid between clenched teeth.

_Shhhhhhhh_

_Sleep now._

The tides tore at the sand's smooth surface, ripping away another sheet of clinging sands.

In her mind's eye, she saw her mother reaching forward to cover her eyes. Her touch was soft, just as a mother's touch should be.

_Shhhhhh_, the waves said upon the sandy shore.

_Shh_, her mother told her. _Close your eyes. It'll be over soon, and you can sleep forever. You'll meet your grandfather, and the lives taken by the voice in your head. Shh, baby, it'll be alright._

_Shhhhhh_

_You can meet Geneva._

Geneva...

Kari had never heard the name roll across anyone's lips before. She didn't know who Geneva was, or how large a role that name would play in her simple-yet-complex life. Even so, the name popped into her head, where it stayed safely hidden as she watched the tides grow stronger; grow longer. Soon, they were going past her knees and sliding across her shins, but even so, she didn't move back.

_**Give yourself to me, Miss Kamiya,**_ the voice said.

She couldn't move. Immobilized by both fear and memory (memories she never had, yet fantasized without the desire to), Kari watched helplessly as the Dark Ocean danced. Push, and pull. Push, and pull.

_Shhhhhh_

"I won't do anything until I know where my brother and friends are," she said, eyes narrowing into slits as she stared out at the gray horizon. She wondered, what does a sunset in the Dark Ocean look like? What does dusk look like from underwater? What would her mother think? Was her mother alive, or was she dead? "Tai... TK... Gatomon... Davis and the others. Where are they? I need them."

_Shhhhhh_

"Please, I need them so badly!"

_**Where are your friends? Your brother? Your family?**_

_**Isn't that a silly question?  
You already know the answer.**_

That's true.

She knew the answer.

_Shhhhhhhh_

She wished she didn't, but she did, and no matter how much she denied it, she knew. All of them were fighting for their lives—fighting for _her_, for the _world_, and for all the precious people inside that world. _Those_ world_**s**_.

"No! No—_no!"_ She couldn't move. "You can't do this! You won't!"

Couldn't breathe.

"_**I**_ won't let you do this!"

How long had she been plagued by the voice in her head?

"You can hurt me, take away everything I know and spit on my grave, but you will NEVER hurt or take away or spit on the ones I love!"

How long would it eat away at her?

"I won't. _I won't._"

She thought, maybe if she kept saying it, it'd cement itself in her brain, and she'd gain the gift to fight for the ones she loved. Maybe, she thought, if she kept saying it, her voice would grow stronger, even if she felt weaker.

_**Then I guess we're in a pickle, aren't we?**_

The voice humbly grumbled in the back of her mind.

_**Keh, keh! **_It was a sound that was similar to the dying hack of a laughing old man. An old man who promised himself he wouldn't die with a serious expression on his face; an old, decrepit man who died with the most guttural bellow of all bellows.

_**Come on, Kari... All it takes is a slice. Just a shard, a sliver of your divinity. And it'll all go away.**_

_**All the pain...**_

_**All the sickness...**_

_**All that—**_**disgusting mortality.**

_**Then you can feel nothing at all for the rest of eternity, and my voice will never plague you again.**_

_**All for a slice.**_

Her eyes widened.

Her pupils shrunk.

Sand covered her legs and shirt, the ocean's gray waves slapping across what should have been golden grains, but were in all reality (or _un_-reality) rotted and blood-marred sands, turned gray by sorrow and time's ticking-tock of ancient darkness—

_Shhhhhh_

_Close your eyes._

_It'll all be over soon, baby girl._

—yet she sat in silence, contemplating everything that would happen if she agreed. All the pains—all the joys—all that she was—_gone._ But that voice...

She couldn't stand it anymore.

She was going insane.

And if she'd agreed earlier, maybe—just maybe—her friends wouldn't be fighting for their lives in the Digital World.

"Under one condition," she said. She took the voice's silence as interest and continued, "Pull back your soldiers. All of them. Leave my friends—family—_precious ones—_alone. You have me and that's all you need... right?"

Again, silence.

Her stomach stirred as she tried to calm herself down—to think clearly—but the sharp pounding in her head never ceased, and it was so hard to sit there and not cry. To not run away. To not scream out for _someone_ to save her. Because that was all Kamiya Kari knew, right? Was to scream and cry and run away from trouble, to depend on others to save her. When she was sick, it was Tai who risked his life to find medicine for her. When Davis first came to the Digital World and Kari's ankle sprained as they ran away from the Digimon Emperor's dark-ringed digimon, it was Davis (an _amateur_ Destined) who activated hidden power and saved her from becoming a shish kabob. When Kari first ventured into the endless depths of the Dark Ocean, it was through TK that she once again found her dulled light, and ignited a powerhouse of wild feral energy. And, above all, when Kari was in the gravest of troubles, it was by Gatomon's swift and unrelenting paw that Kari was alive. So this was Kari's place. The paragon of troubling other people. The damsel in distress. The weak one, who watched everyone's back. The one who walked behind, rather than before; the one who marched below, rather than side-by-side.

_Not today,_ Kari told herself, staring deeply into the smoldering horizon of the Dark Ocean, pegged by gray and shadow as its willowy sunset. _Today, Kamiya Kari, _you _will save _them_._

Again, the deep voice gave a husky snicker. It somehow sounded scorched, depraved, leaving a leathery ripple that chilled the pumping blood in her heartstrings.

_**Aren't you worried?**_

_**My brethren could extend their invitation for another time, attack then.**_

_**The Destined would be so grief-stricken by your disappearance, they wouldn't know what hit them.**_

_**The bloodshed would be a tasty parcel, my dear.**_

She closed her eyes and let go of her temples. She sat up straight, her expression showing nothing but that of a queen, not daring to bow to the scum who wanted to conquer what it would never truly conquer. Her light would remain unscathed in a world scathing and ginormous; a world where bloodshed was a _requirement_, not an opportunity. A right, not a responsibility—or, perhaps, even a bit of both. Kari, however, was a captured Elizabeth, a Rapunzel, a Sleeping Beauty, a Snow White.

Though Kari had never truly taken role as a queen upon her shoulders before, now the full weight of her duties _clung_ to her shoulders. In this moment, she hoisted that light _to_ her shoulders, _above_ her shoulders, and toward the sky, higher than even her head. And though this was but an intangible picture, scenery that could only be captured on a canvas, it was imagery that would stick firmly in her whirring psyche the moment the Dark Creature took her and held her, and destroyed everything she knew.

_Shhhhhhh_

_Close your eyes._

_**They'll return at a different time.**_

_**We'll eat 'em all then, yum yum.**_

Kari actually grinned.

Smiled.

She didn't know why, but in her mind's eye, she saw another flash of her mother's sterling grin, a grin that glowed in the evening light. It was that grin she hoped to accomplish in that moment; a grin she imitated flawlessly.

Warmth.

Light.

A burning, incinerating star that hung in the balance of all galaxies. A spherical sun that everyone everyday looked up at, and though it might've been only a whisper in the back of their mind, noted the gentle heat that flowed from its delicate rays.

_Shhhhhhh_

_Close your eyes._

"Yes, I know the possibilities," Kari answered.

She opened her eyes.

Opened them to a world which she had known so well, yet not so well at all. Opened them to a beast that was her bane, her nemesis, her aggravating headache, yet her saving grace into becoming not a woman, but a fierce warrior.

"Go ahead and try," she cooed, her mother's grin painting her lips. "But don't underestimate my precious ones. Their power will surpass your own, and will leave you with nothing but your pettiness."

The creature hesitated. There was a moment where Kari could sense the creature taking in what she said, tasting it for a moment, as if testing the scenarios in his head of its many meanings.

In the end, the creature—the beast—the _monster—_chose only to grin greedily from the shadows, revealing a maw shrouded with gleaming bloodstained chompers that clenched into a shark grin. The grin widened, showing off not one—not two—but three jaws of jarred blackened and reddened fangs. Then, as the jaws manifested out from the sweltering shadows, a pair of eyes followed—slitted red eyes that held hers within their faltering abyss, an abyss filled with screams, melancholy, and hatred.

She was scared for a moment, but that fear melted away as she felt the ocean's tides dancing with the roof of her feet. Push, and pull. Push, and pull. Yes, she remembered, that's like life. When one force pushes, eventually, that force will also pull back. What goes up must come down. Push, and pull. This creature would rise above her for now, but his darkness would not last long. When he pulled, she would push, and push, and _dance_, and smile her mother's smile, and melt the darkness away with her guiding light.

She would stand erect amongst the shadows, a shining lighthouse to shepherd lost ones through a misty labyrinth.

It was with that last thought—and the untouchable vision of her mother's impeccable smile—that she watched those giant grinning jaws open wide.

_**Keh.**_

_**I'll swallow your soul whole.**_

_**Eventually, I'll swallow **_**all**_** your souls.**_

_Shhhhhh_

_It's time to wake up, Kari. Open your eyes, baby girl._

_Shhhhhh_

.---.

Tai was drenched when he came to the sudden realization that he was taking on a rather large Ogremon. The digimon's muscles bulged like oversized pockets of tendons, its bottom jaw hung ajar from its top lip as it swung a humerus bone for Tai's head. He ducked, eyes narrowed as WarGreymon's fire obliterated the bone in seconds and sent another bellowing attacking for Ogremon's face. The green digimon swiveled for a moment before hitting the ground behind him, his data wavering before it gave a choked sob and dissipated into thin air.

Tai tore his gaze away, instead focusing it nearby toward Sora, Garudamon, Matt, and MetalGarurumon. His lungs felt heavy—like blocks of tungsten armoring every inch inside—and his blood hotly coursed through his veins. He wanted to describe the heat in his body as "scalding", but it wasn't quite searing his skin yet, despite what his mind was screaming. He'd fought many corrupt digimon in his life, but never before had there been so many.

He felt like he'd just run fifty miles.

"Tired already?" came a silky voice beside him. Tai looked up to see the jutted blond hair of Matt Ishida, who gave him a toothy grin from his spot as he held out his hand for Tai. Beside him stood WarGreymon, who stared beadily into Tai's eye before offering his own hand for Tai's other.

Tai grinned at his two best friends. Then, with his right hand grasping WarGreymon's, and his left hand grasping Matt's, he stood.

"Don't be so cocky and green, loner," Tai said through a grin that could only be labeled as his own. "My count's twenty. You?"

"Oooo, that sucks, man," Matt said with a dismissing wave, eyebrow raised coaxingly as he said, "Twenty-_one_."

"Oh, _hell_ naw," Tai spat. He immediately grabbed his digivice and continued, "Being beaten by _you?_ Why, I never! WarGreymon, let's do this!"

"Ugh, just had to get him going, didn't you?" WarGreymon grumbled, pouting in Matt's direction. Matt just gave a sheepish shrug, his teeth gleaming in the cold wet night as he continued smirking.

Immediately, the two boys stood back-to-back, clenching their digivices hand-in-hand as their digimon fended off the other virus digimon from clamping their grimy jaws on their partners. WarGreymon's metal claws sunk into palpable flesh, MetalGarurumon's fangs tore at unsuspecting limbs. Soon, the unbeatable duo became unmatched and unfaltered.

It was only in that moment, after Tai had broken Matt's record, that he allowed himself to remember.

_Kari..._ he thought, biting his bottom lip as he watched WarGreymon tear into a lunging Devimon. He yanked the digimon's black wing out from its socket before piercing a chrome digizoid blade between the digimon's shoulder blades, disallowing it to move another inch without turning back into ghostly data. _What's happening out there?_

It felt like hours ago that he forced Davis to go after Kari. She'd run into the thick of the fight, screaming about a pounding headache and a voice that only she could hear. Tai had to admit that he was worried at first, because these digimon without a doubt were sent by a powerful dark digimon—and Kari had always had problems with the darkness. Even so, while Tai wanted to follow her, he was caught in a fierce battle with a Myotismon at the time (granted, a weaker Myotismon than the one they knew from long ago, but a Myotismon nonetheless). When WarGreymon was finished with him, Tai remembered rushing off into the buckling rain, his limbs like lead as Heaven's tears pounded against his face, only to arrive at an empty spot.

No Davis.

And more importantly, no Kari.

"Hey, man, concentrate!" Matt shouted over the hammering rain. "At this rate, your slacking is gonna cause you a loss, man! Thirty-_three_!"

_Shit,_ Tai thought, turning back to the battle as he directed his thoughts away from his sister. _I'm at thirty-five!_

He couldn't let himself worry about her now—wherever she was, he would have to trust that Davis was with her, and he would protect her. Worrying about something he couldn't do anything about would only hinder him, and even so...

Tai trusted the strings of fate.

He trusted Davis to bring his sister back home.

And most of all, he trusted Kari to _come_ back home.

_You're strong, Kari,_ Tai thought, watching as WarGreymon slashed through the middle of a DemiDevimon and sliced it in half. _Stronger than you think you are._

_Don't forget that._

_Don't _ever_ forget that!_

.---.

"HELL YEAH!"

Yolei's voice rung throughout the night air. Rain drenched her hair, her clothes, her body, but even so, it wasn't only Aquilamon who was fighting the corrupt digimon. Alongside him, Yolei's reputable strength allowed her to rush forward and upper-cut a digimon square in the chin. The digimon—a quivering but bulky Nanimon—flung into a building. Yolei's punch was followed up by a swift silver wind created by Aquilamon's prodigious attack, which ripped right down Nanimon's center and sent the digimon buckling to his knees. A second later and he split in half, his data splattering across Aquilamon and Yolei.

She didn't hesitate to move onto the next one, her foot ramming into its side and tossing it into the foundation of a Kwik Trip convenience store. The collision of its body against the cement caused an explosion of debris and shrapnel to scatter across the road, but Yolei merely grinned devilishly and ran forward.

"EAT THIS, YOU SUNNUVA_**BITCH**_!"

_This is for you, Kari!_

_**CRAAACK**_

The digimon lurched jaggedly in Aquilamon's direction, where it was swiftly impaled and brought to justice.

"HELL _**YEAH**_!"

Another kick to another digimon. It screeched, Aquilamon's wing piercing its side as it burst into data. Yolei gave a toothy smirk and nodded to her digimon, her knuckles colliding like a battering ram with another random jaw. She didn't know the names of all the digimon she beat the hell out of, but Yolei _did_ know there were a lot of them, and she also knew that out of any of the Destined, besides Cody or Ken, she was the most capable of taking them on one-on-one and being able to quite possibly win (if they didn't use any long-range attacks, but that's why she had Aquilamon—other than to be friends with, anyway).

"Yolei, maybe you should—"

"_**HELLLLLLLL**_ YEAH!"

_**CRACK**_!

"Never mind, then." Aquilamon sighed, using another swift attack to send another digimon to its afterlife as Yolei kneed another in the ribs.

_And this is for TK!_

_**CRACK**_

_For Gatomon!_

_**CRAAAACK**_

_For Izzy, Tentomon, and MIMI!_

_**CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAACK!**_

Rain was cold, right?

Yolei's fist continued to dig into the cheek of a poor Numemon. Her glasses were specked with rain water, but she hadn't noticed. Her purple hair clung to her skin, the back of her shirt clung to her back, her muscles felt sore but she hadn't noticed—maybe she wouldn't _let_ herself notice.

When Yolei first began fighting, the rain was cold enough to feel like an ice bath.

So rain was cold, yeah?

"You won't beat me!" she shouted—_**CRACKCRACK—**_another fist-full of adrenaline popped a Hyugamon right between the eyes. "You—you can't beat me! It won't be me! I—I won't—"

_They're injured,_ she thought, feeling the rain fall across her skin like beads, soaking her hair, her shoes, her skin.

The rain was cold.

But why were her cheeks hot?

Why were her eyes so warm?

It wasn't the rain dotting her glasses that was obstructing her sight; everything was blurry for a different reason.

_They're injured and it's because I couldn't protect them,_ she hissed inside her mind, her fist landing into another digimon's jaw. _I wasn't strong enough!_

"I won't let you hurt anyone else! CHA!"

_**CRACK**_

_I..._

"Yolei—" It wasn't Aquilamon who spoke this time.

_**CRACK**_

_I—!_

"Yolei, it's alright."

_I don't want to lose anyone else!_

"Yolei!"

Within seconds, she felt a pair of arms wrap around her, tightly embracing her in their warmth. They held her steady, stopping her from making another digimon her bitch. They were a barrier between her and her goal, stopping her from reaching forward and killing those mother frickers before they could hospitalize someone else.

"No," she hissed, attempting to pull away from the warm embrace. She couldn't be held back right now. She couldn't stop now! She had to keep fighting! And fighting... and fighting... and _fighting_... "Let go!"

She struggled against the barrier, but it only tightened—tightened not in a hostile fashion or even chokingly tight, but tightened only enough to keep her back against the person's strong chest. She tried to tear herself away from the grasp, then she tried to peel away those gentle arms, but when neither worked, she found herself growing weaker.

Her sight clouded more than it had seconds before.

Her muscles began to numb.

"Please," the voice said softly. "Please, stop. It's okay. It's okay, Yolei, I'm here..."

"Ken," she whispered, only then realizing the warmth falling down her cheeks wasn't rain. She fell limp in the man's embrace, her body like putty as the memories flooded her mind. She saw TK impaled by Devimon's arm, she heard Gatomon's scream when she couldn't protect Kari, she saw all of her friends falling around her but she couldn't do a thing—not a _damn thing!_ "I—"

"It's okay, Yolei," he said softly, his warm arms tightening again to keep her in place. "Please, calm down. Let Aquilamon and Stingmon do the rest, okay? You can't fight them all, Yolei. I won't let you fight any of them alone."

"Ken..."

_Please, Davis,_ Yolei thought, her eyes closing as she listened to the rain pitter-patter against the road. _Save Kari!_


	3. The Overlord

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon or any of its brilliant characters. :) No infringement intended. Author's note is at the bottom of the chapter, please read before asking questions (though if I don't answer yours, feel free to ask again/e-mail me at spiffyisglory-at-yahoo-dot-com).  
**Story Themes**** (good for listening while reading :):** "Cosmic Castaway" by Electrasy, "Nikopol/Viral's Theme", "Seeing Red" by Chevelle

**The Lighthouse**

"But I'm not broken, in my dream I win  
And I take over, 'cause I'm no loser  
And I'm in and you're not, bad dreams don't stop  
But I'm all screwed up, a cosmic castaway"

_Prologue Part III  
_...The Overlord...

"YOU..."

Davis could feel every nerve, every pore, every cell within his heated body scorching with undiluted fury.

"YOU KILLED HER."

He could see a creature hunched over the placid, sallow-skinned body of a woman he hardly recognized anymore. Though she bore no mutilation or scratches, he could see it just barely: her eyes dimmed and fell to their still half-lidded state, her natural humming glow faded into a carcass brittleness, the cataclysmic thump of his heart indicated a strong revelation that this wasn't the woman he was looking for but yet somehow it was, _it was_, and she was _here_, she was like _this,_ she was...

Gone.

"I won't let you get away with it..." His voice pumped poisonous wrath into the Dark Ocean's already-deadly atmosphere. His muscles bulged as he gripped his digivice with his right hand. His legs bled adrenaline and sweat. His lungs filled with intoxicating screams of rage. And, in the end, as he hurdled toward the wavering shadow mounted above the girl's stiff body, he allowed only the cadaver rancidity of the creature's black rotted breath to enter his mind before it, like all other things intangibly at that moment, dissipated. "IT'S YOUR TURN."

_**SNAP**_

He heard it echo a little sooner than he thought it would. Davis could feel the torrent of energy crackle at his fingertips, buzzing with a thick inundation of fire that spread like a beehive across his hand. Diamond-shaped catacombs consumed and spat from his fingertips, dancing within the glint of his russet brown eyes as he lurched his elbow back and _thrusted_ his fist forward right into the two-story-tall monster that had drained young Kari Kamiya of her light-bursting soul.

_**CRRRRRAAAAAAAACK**_

Davis couldn't explain how he did it, but as he held his digivice in the same hand that was now exploding with fiery embers and vengeful ambitions, he really _didn't give a shit._

"I'll turn you inside OUT."

He again lunged. However, the shadowy creature was ready for him this time. Its bearing might have been somewhat sluggish and insidious, but damn, _the way it moved..._ it was like watching a car wreck. You see it about to happen, you know you can stop it if you do just the right thing, but there's a part of you that's just too shocked—too scared—too _fascinated—_to move until it's too late and it's already happened. The shadowy creature's—tail?—busted the sharp winds and hit Davis _back_. Every pint of his blood in one instant felt similar to coagulating milk, clotting and clogging before warming and spinning to one area of his body as he was jerked right off his feet and yanked to another before his flaming fist could even _comprehend_ another corkscrew punch (_it's only a fist,_ Yolei bugged him once, but he could only reply with a grinning, _Yeah, but it's MY fist, therefore it has MY mind_).

When Davis landed with an audible _ooomph!_, he looked up to see the shadowy creature standing above him. Rank cataracts of rust-smelling blood driveled from its red-stained maw as _several_ pairs of jaws clenched into a nose-crinkling snarl. The shadow creature's very eyes reminded Davis all too well of twin ruby-strewn fetuses curled up on either side of the beast's head while it stared fiendishly into Davis's own eyes, showering slits of anger and pain and... what else? What was it? Yes, that was it, also in the creature's blood-strewn fetus eyes was _satisfaction_. Despite looking mostly like a twitching shadow, Davis could still see the gray marks of where his flaming fist met corpse-cold shadow (shadow that was solid, shadow that could _feel_, shadow that could be _**harmed**_).

The creature—panting and huffing—gave an amused grunt.

"**You..."** it began.

Davis came to the numbing realization that thing could _talk_. Though it was an over-sized jackal, it could open those wide jaws and spew a deep, rumbling voice from vocal chords that vibrated with power. Davis knew he shouldn't have been surprised. In the Digital World, he'd seen a lot odder things than that. But it was still the fact that something so malevolent—something so coarse—something so _dark—_could speak. It wasn't that it could speak that really got him, though. It was the fact if this thing was intelligent enough to speak, it was also intelligent enough to understand its actions, _it knew what it was doing was wrong_.

And Davis knew. Davis _knew_ that It was the creature who summoned all those corrupted digimon to fight his friends, Davis _knew_ that It would continue hurting his friends, Davis _knew_, without a doubt, that the sallow-skinned girl lying mere feet away was put there by _It_.

"**You..."** It repeated, voice once again rumbling as a tapering flood of rotted liquid exploded from between Its teeth. Davis leaped backwards, taking his crackling fist with him as his digivice shuddered in his grasp. The shadowy creature took a stumbling step toward him, red fetus eyes widening in all their great anger. "**WHO THE HELL ARE **_**YOU**_**?"**

_**WHO...**_

_**THE HELL...**_

_**(...ARE YOU?!...)**_

The shadowy creature's voice ricocheted in his mind, rumbling from one side to the next as a sound that resembled crunching gravel. Suddenly he felt those words fall like a boulder into the pit of his stomach where it sat and rusted. He grabbed his abdomen, a rush of steam filling his psyche as he felt his knees wobble beneath him.

_I only got one hit in, yet I feel like I've been doing this all day..._ he dazedly thought as rough air hissed from his lungs. _That one hit he got... Yggdrasil, what is this Titan packing?_

"You might not know who I am..." Davis grumbled. He struggled to a stand, one of his hands resting firmly on his abdomen where Its crushing tail met his frail human body. However, with one eye swelled shut and blackened with broken blood vessels, Davis stared up at the unholy beast and spat, "But I know who you are, and today, I WILL kill you!"

All the oxygen in his body was pushed out with a hoarse scream as his digivice burgeoned into scorching red beams of flame and ashes. Once again, he could feel every cell and every motion in his body heating up, pulling and pushing, pushing and pulling, coagulating and expanding as tangible burning wind caught and fragmented and _bent_ into flame that rushed right into the air of the shadowy beast. It let out a shrill cry and threw Its head backward, just barely in time for Davis to catapult himself upward and use his soccerball-renowned legs to let out a fiery kick right into the giant shadow jackal's chin. It spluttered backwards, eyes widening before tearing Its gaze back in Davis's direction.

"TOO LATE."

_**CRRRUNCH**_

"I remember... I _remember_, you sunnuvabitch, years ago... years ago when I was too naïve and jealous to do anything about it, because... because I was useless... because... I _remember_, when you came here a long time ago!" Another upper-cut, this time with his flaming fist. His digivice hummed with unknown energy, energy both foreign and fantastical to the boy who'd never seen or felt such power before. Dazzled and intrigued and _empowered_, Davis rushed at the dark creature again, his voice ringing out in the gray atmosphere as he growled, "First, you kidnapped Kari and tried to get your little douchewaffles to bring 'er to you, so you could freaking mate with her! Sick! Who _does_ that?! Oh yeah, _**YOU**_ do, you sunnuvabitch!"

_**CRRAAACK**_

Another kick, this time to the roof of Its snout as It let out a guttural howl of rage. But Davis wasn't done. He was just getting started. In fact, the howl made him grin through his cut-lipped Motomiya anger, the energy growing and maturing and bit-by-bit sizzling every particle of darkness covering the jackal's gargantuan body. He'd make It pay. He'd get Kari back. Even if it was impossible, somehow, someday, someway, he'd save her.

With a swift thrust of adrenaline, he sent another punch right toward the shadowy monster's blood-spattered nose.

"You mentally tortured her, giving her headaches, giving her nightmares every damn night until this very day!" he spat.

_**SNAAAAP**_

"Not only did you kidnap her _again,_ but you played with her, you _hurt_ her—"

_**POPopOPOP**_

The red fire searing his fist flickered and turned into white-hot catacombs of data that blossomed into a tirade of conflagration.

"—You _**hurt**_ her, you goddamn—"

_**ZZZZZZZZT**_

"—shit-guzzling, pussboiling—"

_**RRRRRRRRRZZZT**_

"—_pathetic, pitiable—_"

_**POPOPOpopopoZZZTCRUNNNNNCH**_

". _**MOTHER**_ . _**FUCKER**_ ."

_**CRACK!**_

And suddenly, every inch of that great energy drained instantly from his body. The second his knuckles plowed into the shattering chest of the shadowy creature, there was the loud thump of bone breaking, soul shaking, grave-gutting obliteration. The shadowy creature roared as it thundered backwards into the Dark Ocean's wiry gray waves, eyes open wide as black slitted pupils manifested from the center of Its glowing oculars. Davis tried to stay on his feet as soon as his toes met the silver glittering sands, but his knees collapsed on him and he found himself sitting right beside Kari's immobile body. The creature was huffing, gruffly glaring at Davis as It attempted to pull Itself out from the waves—however, just like Davis, every muscle in Its body was placid and unwilling.

The fire died away from his hands and legs, his digivice stilled, his tendons refused to continue any further than he already was. Maybe it was a sign, maybe it was an omen. Davis didn't know, Davis didn't care.

For now, for that second, it was a stalemate.

And, with that information, Davis brought his tender gaze toward Kari. Her eyelids drooped dully over her eyes, her skin turned paler by the second, the soft torrents of water danced against her side. Beads of roughed-up sand rimmed her body, where otherwise a gliding beach would have completed the scenery. He felt a sudden shake seep into his chest like raindrops into polyester.

"Kari..." he whispered softly, reaching forward to delicately clasp her hand within his. His shoulder blades jerked before he raised a hand to rest his palm against his forehead, where liquid heat dribbled down his temple. His eyes felt hot and stung, and though he knew he wanted to cry, nothing came. Nothing came but the choked voice of a boy who couldn't quite grasp that the woman he saw before him was the Destined of Light, the queen of all things good and just, the woman he used to be infatuated with until that infatuation grew and matured into something not even he quite understood until it was too late. Davis was _always_ too late. "You can't be... I can't... After all you've been through... after all _we've_ been through, me and you, you and the others... this can't be happening. Please, don't let it happen!"

_Shhhhhhhh_

The Dark Ocean's waves clashed upon the shoreline, catching the corner of his eye. He tilted his head upwards to view the vast body of water, which seethed from one position to the next. Yes, that was right. Push, and pull. Push, and pull.

_All things push, all things pull. What goes up must come down. What life forms must be life that someday fades._

_Shhhhhh_

_It's okay, Davis... it's okay._

"It's not okay," he choked, reaching with trembling fingertips as they softly raked Kari's cheek. "It's not."

_Do you remember, Davis?_

_Shhhhhhh_

_Do you remember a long time ago, when you first met Kari Kamiya?_

He smiled sadly as he leaned down to wrap his strong arm around her. It was a fragile movement, one that helped position her body so that her shoulderblades rested against his knees, her head lightly against his stomach as he held her tightly. He wanted to say a lot of things in that single moment, yet no words came to him, not a single one.

He did remember that day.

It was a day before her (or his, for that fact) adventures in the Digital World, before the deepest darkness could consume both worlds, before the cicadas sung their lullabies and the crickets played their violins. It wasn't even at day, now that he thought about it. He remembered because the scorched oranges and sunburned pinks of a buttery dusk painted the big bright doe-brown color of her eyes. He'd just played and won his first soccergame after months of fierce practice under his role model and idol, Tai Kamiya. Tai taught him many things, things that Davis couldn't even begin to recite because, within that time, what Tai taught him had become instinct or second-nature to him, something that was innate and bubbling over within the core of his soul. It _became_ a part of his soul.

Tai was his hero, who picked up a lonely misunderstood kid and taught him how to play the game that saved him from many days of boredom and witless humiliation by his peers (_"Ahahah, did you see that Davis kid? Gawd, his sister said he still wets the bed! Can you believe dat?"_ Sometimes it was worse. Sometimes it was, _"His sister... she's such a slut! And did you see his dad? Walks around like he owns the place. It's no wonder his kids are so freaking obnoxious."_ Never mind that he was obnoxious _because_ people didn't like him, _because_ his father was a well-known business tycoon thus he _had_ to act as great as his father, _because_ no one looked at him or paid attention to him _or _his sister unless the Motomiya siblings were obnoxious). However, one day out of the blue, Tai tossed him a soccer ball and said, _"Hey, dude, you look pretty scrawny. That def means you ain't a football player. And lookit dat, you ain't lookin' like no hockey player, either. You know how to play soccer? No? Well then, you probably suck. Wanna play anyway?"_

And, years later, ahoy, they won their first match against their greatest rival school (a school that would later host Ken Ichijouji as their captain and reclaim their victory against Odaiba Elementary). By the end of the last half, however, Davis injured his knee—it was pretty banged up, yet he continued playing anyway. He didn't want to let anyone down (especially Tai, even if he knew it was impossible for Tai to ever be disappointed in his star pupil—in his own words, "Mistakes are inevitable"). By the end of the game, the satisfaction (and the agonizing pain) of winning had seeped in.

That was when Kari Kamiya stepped into his life for the first time.

"_Ahhh, close your eyes, Davis Motomiya!"_ It was the first thing she said to him. He blinked and looked up at the cute girl who was crouched above him, her palms resting on her knees, her face above his head as she examined his bloodied knee. She waved a _Dasani_ water bottle in front of his face, which reflected the pained flash of fear echoing in his hollowed gaze. When he gave her a blank expression, she giggled and repeated, _"This is gonna hurt, so close your eyes and it'll feel a lot better!"_

"_Uh... um... oh—okay."_

He'd closed his eyes, then felt something ice-cold and wet slide against the deep gash traveling across his inner-thigh and ending at the bottom left of his kneecap. At first, the coolness felt nice, even soothing, but a second later a harsh sting enveloped his leg and he bit back tears threatening to fall. He didn't know what she'd done to him, but whatever it was, it hurt like hell!

"_Dammit, stoppit!"_ he'd hissed, jaggedly moving toward the hand he felt rubbing the liquid into his knee. _"That hurts!"_

"_Well, of course it's going to hurt,"_ she'd said with a giggle. _"That's what happens when someone tries to clean out a cut. Don't worry, just keep your eyes closed. I'll tell you when to open 'em, kay?"_

He grumbled something vulgar under his breath, but luckily the girl hadn't heard him. Instead, she continued rubbing the liquid until she dried it and replaced the liquid with what Davis could only guess was a band-aid. It stuck to his skin and there was a square-shaped cottony cloth at the center of the sticky stuff where the gash should've been, so he instantly got a picture of the DragonBall Z band-aids he'd seen at the convenience store just hours ago before the soccer game began. A second later and the girl's sweet voice piped up again:

"_Okay, Mister Mean Face, open 'em!"_

And thus, Davis opened his eyes and allowed the light to flood his pupils, to register the radiating glow until they contracted and showed a brightness that shimmered as the girl gave him her biggest smile. He once again blinked, his teeth clamping on his bottom lip as the pain in his knee briefly died away. She stared back, her bangs tickling her cheek as she smiled warmly and examined the way he turned to view (oh, the irony) the DragonBall Z band-aid sticking to his cut. He could only wonder, Great minds think alike?

"_Ahhh, but my healing is not done yet! See, see?"_ she began. And, when he just barely had enough time to look up, Kari leaped forward and wrapped her gentle arms tightly around him in a heat-seeking embrace. The color in his face deepened to a ruby hue while his eyes widened in all their expanding glory. She was... hugging him? _"Hugging is one of the best best BEST medicines ever!"_

Thinking back to it, the now-older Davis had to grin bitterly. Kari _would_ know that better than anyone, considering how often she used to get sick or injured. He was somewhat sure that was something Tai taught her, as well, though he couldn't be completely certain. All he _could_ be certain of was the fact that he hadn't even realized the girl who helped him that day was Tai's sister, yet destiny pulled her toward him, and in turn, he was pulled toward her like the weighted tug of fate's gravity. Just as Cody and Yolei found each other and fostered amity where there was none, Davis that day had found two of the best feelings he'd ever felt: deep friendship with Tai, and Cupid's arrow for a girl he never knew he'd grow to love.

A girl who told him to close his eyes.

To close them on the surrounding darkness of pain and past tribulation, and _open_ them to her sheltering light of support and cleansing sunbeams. That day, his symbol was the sun—the stars—the fiery missiles of everything that represented him—and she became the light that adorned the sun, the moons, the spherical starlight that shed silver studs across a black sky. A guide in the night, an embrace in the day.

And here that guide—that embrace—that once-tall lighthouse—lied.

In his arms.

Silent.

Completely, utterly and absolutely unmoving.

"Kari..." His voice cracked.

The shadowy beast's voice also popped into his mind like cracked shards of a shattered mirror, all pieces crinkled and cutting and peering back at him as fiercely as he peered back. His roiling glare ripped from Kari's face and landed on the mirthless kaleidoscope eyes of the monster who took her from him, Its movements dilatory, crawling, creeping, Its voice a drawling gurgle in his ears as It spoke mentally and disembodied.

_**This isn't over, you little dickless mutt.**_

_Hah._ Davis gave a burlesque tooth-filled sneer. _I shattered your breastplate. You really expect to beat me? I'm just surprised you're not chucking up more blood, you Paris Hilton shithead._

"_**Don't mock me—"**_

"And by the way," Davis interrupted the soul-swallowing jackalcanine, "If I'm a mutt, you're a bitch, _Jackie._"

The shadowy beast _seethed_ with rage. It floundered helplessly in the Dark Ocean, hissing hysterically as It attempted to get to Its feet and obliterate the motherfucker who _dared_ call him "Jackie" _or_ "bitch"! His flipping and flopping and blood-spitting, however, only made Davis's grin grow until it was ear-to-ear, his grip tightening on Kari's body protectively even if the creature couldn't garner the strength to stand and harm them. He'd protect her anyway, even if it meant his life – not only because he made a promise he no longer remembered, but because of the gathering energy that pumped through his heart. It was a feeling that told him that he'd do anything to protect his precious ones, especially the ones who changed him, who changed his life, who changed everything he believed in. People he loved, be it romantically or platonically. Kari... Tai... Jun and his parents... the other Destined, like Ken and TK... he'd finish this, before any of them could get hurt.

"See this energy gathering around my digivice?" Davis began, raising his hand to show the blue radiating mechanism. When the shadowy beast quit twitching, Davis waved it side-to-side, capturing the tyrant's attention until he held it and only it. Then, in a voice low and acidic, a voice not even Davis recognized, the goggle boy growled, "_When it's done, without even touching you, I will have the power to blast you to a million fucking pieces._"

_You shouldn't have come here five years ago, you shouldn't be here now, and you shouldn't have taken her a second time._

_**Don't you dare—**_

"Oh, and by the way," Davis once again interrupted. Fire bursted around his clenched fist, knuckles cracking with delight as the red-hot heat instantly charred into a brilliant white kindle. "You wondered who the hell I was before. My name is—"

_shhhhhhh_, the ocean waves hissed. The shadowy creature fumbled, twisted, curled up in the water as it struggled to keep Its body above the crushing tidals. Blood shook Its body and splurted from all crevices in Its body, yet It continued to greet Davis's joy with every curdle and every twitching jolt.

_**Don't do this!**_

"—MOTOMIYA—"

_**You'll regret it!**_

"—DAVIS,—"

_**STOP IT!**_

"—_**BITCH**_—"

_**CRRRRRSSSSHHHHHHHZZZZT**_

Raw energy erupted from his palm and surged through the cackling gales. Rupturing every cell and every muscle in his body, Davis had managed to propel the bright white fire of undeniable cutting power right toward the shadowy monster's face. It twittered and tinkered and sizzled in the air, expanding and filling his vision with the most off-white explosion he'd ever witnessed. He could hear the energy pressure the Dark Ocean before the energy amplified like sound and _checkered_ the gray fluid, causing white and gray to flash and mix and fill the beach with peridot steam trickling with moist heat.

_**Crk**_

Davis continued holding Kari tautly against him, his body crouched over hers to protect her from any incoming impacts from the barreling attack.

_**Crkcrk**_

What was that sound?

_**SHHHHHHHHHHHH**_ – the sound of steam shooting up from the water?

_**CrkcrkCRK**_ – the sound of bones breaking as his attack fractured skull and glided through membrane to cut a perfect half out of Mr. Jackie?

_**CrkcrkcrkPOPopopOPOP**_

No.

That was _definitely_ not the sound of his attack sliding through his opponent. Davis wrenched his eyes open and juggled between two sides of vision, trying to see through the thick fog that now covered the beach. However, he couldn't see anything, not a silhouette, not a shape, nothing but the billowing army of gray fizzing smoke.

"**Daaaaaaaaaavis..."** The gurgling rumble gushed like rolling thunder and played against his ringing eardrums. Immediately, his nerves slammed into place and his stomach felt something inside lurch, sickeningly stirred. There was a deep, bubbling chuckle that sounded like it came from the pit of the sea, almost muted or inaudible all but for the rush of ripples that echoed every drowned sound. **"Daaavis... You're a smart boy.... **_**grg.**_**.. **_**glp**_**"** More bubbles seamed from the water as steam began to clear, yet still no shapes depicted the outcome of his massive attack. **"grgglpglp... but... you got one thing wrong... guhguh..."**

His heart thumped loudly against his chest.

..._One thing?_

_What?_

"**I'm not the Master of the Dark Ocean..."**

Davis could feel his body give out as he struggled to continue looking up. His neck ached, his body weakened, his grip on Kari slacked and he could just barely begin to feel the riveting energy that once coursed through his veins vanish within milliseconds. The epiphany hit him before he could truly believe It, but in some weird way, what the jackal said didn't hit him as a lie or untruthful, yet his immediate reaction was to call bullshit. He wasn't going to let this monster get away with hurting Kari. He wasn't going to let it get away releasing corrupt digimon onto Earth and harming innocent citizens. He wasn't going to let it continue this worthless fight!

"If you're not the one who called Kari here five years ago..." Davis began, his brow furrowing as his voice became brittle.

"**Guhguh... glpgrggle... stupid human dreck, the Master is a much bigger bastard than I... this is only the beginning of a much bigger story... a story that will overcome you, rip you, **_**destroy**_** you."**

"What am I, your chew toy? Nothing can destroy me. I'm _Davis Fucking Motomiya_, JackieBitch! And don't you dare forget it!"

**crkpop**

_**Oh, don't worry...**_ the dark creature chuckled. _**I won't.**_

_**SNAP**_

_**CRSH**_

Water and sand splashed across Davis's face. He swung one of his arms in front of his eyes, the other in front of Kari. His body moved faster than he thought it could as he positioned himself (barely able to) above Kari, between he and the thing that stood before him. When he cleared away the sand from his face and managed the courage to look up at the thing that tore the sand up from under him and splattered it like blood in front him, his heart slammed to a halt.

The creature standing in front of him was still—it was—

but it couldn't be.

"I killed you," he muttered weakly. His voice then grew stronger, winded, heaving. "I SLICED AND DICED YOU."

It was none other than the shadowy beast, without any evidence of a shattered breastbone or a fractured skull. In fact, It stood tall, chin raised high, fetus eyes gleaming dangerously bright in the gray-night light. Everything about It reigned healthy and supreme, a king; a virtual god.

"**Kill me?"** the shadow god mused. **"You call that killing? And here I thought we were playing around, mutt."**

_THUD_

Davis shrilly cried out as a mammoth paw knocked him away from Kari and pinned him to the sand. It pressed against his chest, forcing him deeper into the sands. He threw his head back in a high-pitched scream that reverberated throughout his whole body, putting his very bones in tremulous chaos.

"**Is this really the epitome of your strength? How sad. I actually feel a little bad now, I thought you were just playing, too."**

_Son of a—_Davis bit back tears as he felt his body shake with agonizing, screaming, jerking pain. Another scream and he could feel the blood rise to his face, the pressure forcing him to gag as his body forced every inch of oxygen out of him to make more room for his squishing organs. Every inch inside was pressuring against the other side of his body, his ribs gutturally crackling with unknown weight, his eyes widening with the bright eeriness of lurching death. He could feel himself falling apart, trembling, trembling not out of fear, but out of _pain,_ out of **rage**.

"G—get off me!" Davis panted.

He glanced up just briefly enough to see the monster's rotted black lips peel back into a toxic face-splitting grin. However, focusing his gaze on anything took too much energy and too much concentration—too much _determination—_and he swiftly found himself faltering to even look at what was right in front of him. Everything was turning into a hazy mess, blood _**crrrrrnnnnch**_ed across his face (his own blood, his _own goddamn blood!_), his ribcage punched against his barely-pumping heart.

_K—Kari..._ it was a thought that repeated endlessly in the inner-sanctum of his thoughts. His face cocked toward the unmoving body of that gentle girl, whose own eyes were pointed in his direction. Though there was no emotion in those once warm and soulful eyes, it was the memory within them that caused Davis to draw in a rigid, impossible breath.

"**And just to make up the favor,"** the jackal tittered, **"You can call me the Overlord of Darkness, just for kicks."**

_Kari... I'm sorry..._ he thought. The tears that would not fill his eyes earlier now formed and fell, hitting the shoreline in dulled specks. He clenched his eyes shut as the memories flashed across his mind. _I'm sorry I can't avenge you before I die._

He remembered her smile.

Goku's Super Saiyan face on the surface of that shiny band-aid.

He remembered all the times she teased him about his jealousy, he remembered the times _he_ teased _her,_ remembered as she cheered him on during a soccer match even though they were badly losing. She never gave up hope on him, and she always lent her light even when he didn't deserve it.

He remembered getting mad at Jun for spilling another one of his silly secrets. Thinking back, those secrets seemed so... _pointless_. Why would he care if people knew that he wore dirty boxers a lot? Who cared if he never washed his gym shorts (it was for luck, dangit)? Who cared if he still had a crush on one of the most popular girls in school (hell, who didn't)? None of it mattered, yet he'd spent so much time being angry at her over it when he could've spent that time with her, been with her, comforted her, laughed with her, hugged her... he could've been there for her the day Matt rejected her, rather than being mad that she "embarrassed" him by asking out one of his friends.

He remembered being taught how to cook by Mimi, who'd learned her stuff from the best (AKA Italian and Emeril cookbooks, and though Davis didn't see what was so great about it, she thought it was da shit). He remembered being teased for his crush by Sora and Yolei, and being scolded by Matt for fighting with TK. But he couldn't help it – he loved fighting with TK. Not because he was jealous of him (though that did play a big part), but because it challenged the both of them to improve themselves and grow stronger in order to never be beaten by the other. Somehow, in a lot of ways, TK was his best friend, though he could never admit it out loud.

He remembered saving Ken from himself, and offering him a place on the team. Ken was so anxious at first, yet scared to high hell that he'd do something wrong and mess it all up. But Davis believed in him. _He believed_, because anything could happen.

Miracles were rare, but a profound gift he'd received when he least expected it.

"Da... vis..."

His eyes shot open.

That wasn't his voice, or the dark creature's.

It was Kari's.

It came out as a faint murmur that just barely reached his ears. A flicker of unknown emotion flashed across her dead eyes, an emotion that took and wrung everything inside Davis—everything inside his _soul—_and forced his lips to curl into a broken smile. He couldn't breathe, couldn't really think, couldn't physically feel anything but the rush of blood and shattered bones that were crushed beneath the pounding weight of the Overlord's clawed paw. Blood spluttered between his lips, his unfocused gaze failed in an attempt to sharpen his vision of Kari's soulless body, his life fluttered across his mind.

Even so, within that single second he had, he'd seen the life in her eyes—just as quickly as it had come—fade into oblivion once more. And with that fading light, his strength grew.

_If she can still talk... if she saw me... she's alive... she's alive!_

Energy began burning inside his palm, scorching his skin and melting singed flesh from ash-clattered bone. Though he could hardly feel his numb body, he knew that he had a chance now—a chance to save Kari, and he wouldn't let it go this time! He wouldn't let the monster kill her! He wouldn't let her fade! He wouldn't let the lighthouse dim!

"Get... off... me..." _fffffft _"You big... douche-ogling... BITCH."

_**BRRRRRRRRM**_

White fire sprung from his palm and caught on the creature's clicking paw. While the raw energy wasn't as big as last time, it caused the Overlord to hiss and flick his paw backwards. Davis felt an instant release in his body—organs melding back in place, bones relaxing as the pressure ceased, his heart ricocheting to a normal if not somewhat faster beat—and finally, while he sacrificed the ability to stand (at least for now), he still forced the power to careen out from his hand and to collide with one of the creature's honking eyes. The Overlord roared and whisked himself away, the knick of Its elbow rubbing irritably at the red slash that spat curdled liquid from Its pupil. There was a rumble of vast movement and the jackal howled furiously, then brought its glowing gaze back to the boy who hit him.

"**You—how do you still have power?! I CRUSHED you!"**

"Oh, I'm crushed," Davis gurgled, feeling blood seep slowly through his veins. He didn't have much time, but... perhaps... he'd have enough time to settle this. "But I won't let you hurt her any more than you already have."

"**Ugh, 'Kari this, Kari that, whine whine whine WHINE'. Would you SHUT THE FUCK UP?!"**

_**CRRRRRRAAAAAAAAACK**_

Davis paled.

The Overlord grinned.

Kari, in that instant, was buckled beneath the shadowy creature's paw. Everything about It was filled with seething satisfaction, a hurdle that fizzled with unrelenting energy as Kari's body snapped like a twig beneath It. Davis let out a earsplitting shriek, his head shaking viciously as he tried to _force_ his body to a stand, but his muscles wouldn't move, his tendons wouldn't bend, his bones wouldn't heal.

"K—KARI!" His voice hoarsely screamed her name. "_**KARI**_!"

"**Now listen up, my little pukeworthy human filth,"** the Overlord snarled. **"If you want her to live, then there is only one thing you can do. Seeing as I just ruptured several of her vital organs and essentially severed half her insides, you don't have much of a choice if you—what was it you said?—'Don't want me to hurt her again'... Are you listening, or will I have to repeat myself?"**

Davis remained silent. His gaze—still blurry and wet—traveled to the red haze that he could only assume was the creature's eyes. He saw Its white maw weave into a half-ringlet of bloodstained fangs. The Overlord's voice gurgled with gleeful chuckles, gravelly and deadlike at the same time and made his bones shiver with their carcass-cold mirth.

"**It's good that I have your attention."** Another smirk.

"**See, there's this thing...**

"**It's called a...**

" **'Soul Contract' ."**

-------

**Author's Note: **Hey everyone! Thanks for reading this 'ole thing. Everyone's thoughts and feelings are very appreciated, and because I feel that some of the reviews contain warranted questions or comments, I shall answer them here! Though, if you have any further questions, feel free to ask/e-mail/review and I'll respond as soon as I can (if it takes a long while, don't worry, it isn't that I've forgotten you, it's just that I don't have a lot of time at the moment). WARNING: There will be some spoilers in my replies, but nothing too much that it'll ruin the overall plot... I guess, if you're feeling a little bewildered or curious where this story may be going, it can give you something to look forward to.

**Lord Pata:** _"So Devimon is back?"_

It's quite possible. ;) While you'll have to wait and see if he shows up again in the prologue, this is only the (romantic, unfortunately) prologue to a large-scale epic that actually doesn't show much Davis/Kari love at all. I only say "unfortunately" because I'm not a big romance writer and I think I'm rather bad at it, although I found that Davis's relationship with Kari is a profound growing part of his character and thought it'd be best to have a prologue focused around those feelings (which set up many future plotlines for both characters later down the line, where they must deal with soul-eating creatures and other such beasts). Though, I think it's important to note that they will _probably_ be one of the final couples of the story, even if romance isn't a large part of the actual story itself. I like to pay attention to other characters more thoroughly than romance. As for Devimon, we'll have to see!

**Lord Pata:**"_And now that explains why TK is in the hospital, TK sure is lucky to be alive considering he was impaled on Devimon's arm o.o"_

Yes, he sure IS lucky! :D Considering that TK takes a huge role in the main body of The Lighthouse story, it's very important to show ripples (and subtle hints) of where I might be going with his character. Devimon has always played a large role in TK's development, including his hatred for all forces of darkness – this side of him will be further explored and expanded on in The Lighthouse, since it is one side of TK that always intrigued me the most. In fact, in The Lighthouse, I want to explore intriguing sides of _all_ the Destined (that includes even less popular characters like Joe, Izzy, and Cody, all of whom I find intriguing in different ways). While we see small splinters of this in The Lighthouse: Prologue, we'll be seeing much more flavors of them all in the next much bigger and much more epic installment. Again, the prologue is a mere ripple of the things to come (including power-ups of the all the human characters AND their partners, major character development, and in a lot of ways, there's a little bit of something for everyone).

**Lord Pata:** _"And where is Patamon? You haven't mentioned him on any of the two chapters, I mean his partner is in the hospital so where is him (sic)? I hope he isn't dead o.o"_

Patience, my friend. :) Patamon is essential to TK's character growth, especially in The Lighthouse. Though Patamon is not one of the main characters, he still plays a large role – will we see him in the rest of the prologue? Perhaps. But I can guarantee that we will be seeing quite a bit of Patamon later on in the series.

**Mitsunari Ishida:** Baw, how could I forget wonderful readers like you guys? :D

**TheFinalCountdown:** I hope you enjoy all the next installments! :) Also, I hope you're okay...? :(

**xXxThe BeastxXx:** "_Very Nice. Very emotional, though a little light on the description, I believe, and a little light as far as back-story goes. I was a little lost in the beginning and it took me a couple of minutes to figure out what was happening."_

Thank you! And very much agreed on the description and back-story part. Sadly, I facepalmed at myself while rereading the first chapter because I realized I used way too much of the original third draft when I should have booted my laziness and just rewritten it like I'd rewritten Part Two and Part Three (which, together, were only maybe 5 pages in the original second draft, ahaha). But I don't plan on being lazy with the rest of it. -nods-

I guess, the back-story goes along the lines of, "Dark creatures are overrunning Earth. Kari was just kidnapped and brought to the Dark Ocean by a shadowy beast. Davis is the only one who can save her, because everyone else is fighting for their lives. Who's the dark beast and what is this 'only beginning' they speak about? How did they get such big power, and how does the original Master of the Dark Ocean factor into the story? Will Earth be overrun by virus digimon? Will TK, Gatomon, V-mon, Izzy, Tentomon, and Mimi (just a few names mentioned of possibly fatal wounds) be alright? Will Davis be able to save Kari? Will Kari become strong enough to save herself, thus no longer being a damsel in distress? And who is Geneva? What is the great power Davis unlocked, and will other Destined/Partners be able to unlock it as well? If the Destined/Partners can unlock and nurture such exploding powers or hone them to be bigger than they already are, is it possible for others to unlock such cataclysmic powers as well?".

Lots of bubbling questions for the reader, but once more, this is a mere beginning to the questions and answers and explosion of power that will fill the main Lighthouse fic (not necessarily Love For A Fool, but this is a mere taste of what I'm planning).

**xXxThe BeastxXx:** _"'Thank you, Disembodied Voice In My Head.' That was beautiful, though. I loved that line. I can't wait to see more."_

Hehe. Glad you enjoyed and I hope more lines tickle you from then on. ;)

Thanks for reading everyone and I hope you continue enjoying Lighthouse! I'd especially like to thank my sister, who took a lot of time to beta-read each chapter and tell me when I overdo it or don't do it enough, lol. Unfortunately, she doesn't have an account on , even though I've been pushing her to get one since God knows how long. :(


	4. Our Soul Contract

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ **_Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter._** Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Hide and Seek" by Imogen Heap, "Hero" by Chad Kroeger, and "Hallelujah" by Rufus Wainwright and Leonard Cohen.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Someone once told me that love would all save us,  
but how could that be?  
Look at what love gave us.  
A world full of killing, and blood spilling,  
that world never came.

"And they say that a hero can save us.  
I'm not gonna stand here and wait.  
I'll hold onto the wings of the eagles,  
Watch as we all fly away."  
—_Hero_ by Chad Kroeger

**Prologue Part IV**

..._Our Soul Contract._..

(_Glowing eyes that seared into his skin like cigarette buds._)

As bolt blue split the sky outside TK's hospital room, fear filled Patamon's heart. There was a growl of rippling thunder that shook the foundation of the hospital, causing several others in the room next to TK's to shudder and gasp. In the near distance outside the hospital, Patamon could hear high-pitched shrieks, so loudly echoing throughout the city that Patamon _wanted_ to leave the hospital, _wanted_ to leave TK's side, _wanted_ to help the many people in danger and in pain, yet he also knew that he would have to protect TK.

The hospital, after all, was a major target amongst the corrupt descending digimon.

If it weren't for Joe, Cody, and Cody's grandfather, the hospital would've croaked long before that moment. Even so, Patamon couldn't help but fight the urge to look outside the window at the fear he knew would be marred there.

(_A voice that burbled like a dying cackle, filling his ears with mirthless mocking as his wings collided with the harsh stormy winds._)

_You're wasting your time,_ Patamon told himself, his tongue running against the back of his teeth. It had been a long time since he felt the fanged devil's presence, a long time since the two faced off, a long time since his darkness threatened Earth. But, as another side of him worried, Patamon stared into the restful pale of his partner's face and thought, "...But what if Devimon's not the one we have to worry about anymore?"

(_Titanic arms that stretched and twitched as they felt the Earth's atmosphere for the first time. It was heavier than the gravity on the Digital World, which filled the demon's eyes with excitement. The air was somehow dirtier, filled with toxic chemicals and exhaust that absorbed into people's system to the point where they could no longer recognize how polluted Earth was. The dirty air, the greater gravity, the high-pitched screams... it made the black devil peel back lips made of rot into a tooth-quirked smirk._)

"I'm _**not**_ the one you have to worry about, Patamon."

Patamon's eyes widened as he looked up from TK's face and finally tore his stare to the billowing clouds rolling outside. Another rip of thunder sundered the sky, filling it with red and blue sparks that cascaded to the nearby lake below, lighting like fireflies in a dancing August midnight.

Manifesting from the swelling blue bulge of light was the jutted features of an almost-all ash-black face, with searing red eyes that protruded from the black confines of his leathery face. Half below the top half of the creature's face showed only the sallow skin of a humanoid, lips peeled back into a grin that harbored sharp bloodstained fangs.

The fanged devil was standing at the double-pane glass window separating TK's hospital room from the outside chaos that had consumed not only Odaiba, but thousands of other pinnacle Destined points around the globe. And even then, Patamon could only stare helplessly into the glowing leer of Devimon's pupiless eyes, which drew to the boy shrouded in white linen covers.

And, just like that, the fanged devil – _**Devimon**_ – recoiled his elbow to gain the momentum and strength needed to pulse his four-knuckled fist forward right into the center of the window.

_**CRK**_

Spiderweb chinks splintered the window before it fissured and clattered to the ground at Patamon's feet. The winged creature scuttled backwards, racing to a stand before Devimon could get the better of him and hurt TK. His pale eyes gleamed like starlights, tracing the devil's body with meticulous ease as he snatched a puff of air from the atmosphere bigger than his small body. He readied himself to hurl that same atmosphere outward in a lambaste of bulleting air, and though he knew it couldn't do much damage, what else could a rookie digimon do without the support of his partner?

"You've gotten awfully pathetic, haven't you?" Devimon grunted, allowing Patamon's attack to throng along his broad scarred chest. Without marring or scratching him, the attack fluttered listlessly for a few seconds before popping and spitting and doing nothing but causing a sharp grin to overcome Devimon's expression. Patamon hissed something vehement under his breath, but Devimon merely leaned forward from his crouched position on the window frame, his darkening aura boring invisible holes into a room once filled with hope. "_All_ of you have gotten weak. You thought because you'd defeated the big bad MaloMyotismon, nothing else could be nearly as bad, have you? You've forgotten how to be Destined."

"No, we haven't—we've—" Patamon reeled backwards, his words jumbled as he was torn between attacking and talking. In frustration, he grabbed his head and said, "What would YOU know about being a Destined? AIR SHOT!"

"It won't work. Face it, you've grown weak..._er._" Devimon swatted away the attack with ease. Furious tears filled Patamon's eyes, yet he continued attacking. He sat himself upon TK's bed as if to make sure Devimon couldn't hurt him, a hum of weakening attacks throttling in Devimon's direction. Yet, the devil continued taking them without a wince, without a scratch, without a care.

"Shut-up! We beat _you_, you stupid—_ugh_. I won't let you hurt TK anymore!" Patamon shouted, his knees weakening as he continued thrusting each attack at his opponent. He remembered years ago during his and TK's first adventures in the Digital World, when he'd taken on Devimon one-on-one. He was so scared then. He hadn't been scared because he was about to lose his _own_ life, he was afraid of what would happen to _TK_, and what would happen without Patamon there to save him. Regardless, Patamon—_Angemon—_had given his life for the human he loved, and he would do the same even now, even if his death would be meaningless; there was no way in _hell_ that he would allow Devimon to take TK's life as he had Angemon's.

However, Devimon only gutturally snickered, lustrous eyes slanting in mused fashion. He took one heavy step down from the screen and allowed his bear heels to dig into the shards of fallen glass, each step toward the two epitomes of hope weighted and careful; yet, at the same time, relaxed, unfeeling.

"Who said...?" he asked. Patamon blinked up at Devimon, his eyes widening yet narrowing in morbid curiosity as his brow furrowed. Devimon's lips grew wider apart, allowing a slice of his amber tongue to slide between his teeth. "Who said I would hurt him? Mm, wait wait, I see, you're worried I'll finish the job. Don't. I purposely struck him in the least lethal spot possible. That way, once the dunce was down and out, it takes away your ability to digivolve, go suicidal, and kill me. Again. After all... why would I kill someone who has use to me?"

What?

Patamon lurched forward, his hooves slamming against the ground as his ears billowed into a winged thrum pulsating the air. He drew in a breath to holler his next attack, but the champion level was quicker: with an obsidian elongated arm, he gripped Patamon tightly in the palm of his gargantuan hand. Patamon gave a hoarse, angry shriek, his memories whirring in his mind as he thought maybe this was the end, maybe this was _it_, maybe it really was all for nothing.

But then...

As Devimon peered into the blue mist of Patamon's eyes...

He realized that maybe, just maybe, this moment was all for everything.

"I did what I did. _Deal,_" Devimon snarled. "And who wouldn't? If I had no use for you two numbnuts, I would've cleaved you in two, but as it is..."

"You think we'd be YOUR tools?! You've got a lot of nerve!" Patamon howled. "I'd rather DIE."

"What about your partner? Would you rather him die, as well?" Devimon showed his threat through the passive aggressive twist of his decaying lips. However, just as Patamon opened his mouth to reply, Devimon's clutch tightened. The devil grunted. "Don't flatter yourself with a response. Both of you are too valuable to die. As it is, both you and I know that there's trouble headed our way, Patamon. _Real_ trouble. Bigger than you or me, or anyone _we_ have ever faced before. The only difference between you and me—at least, in this situation—is that I know the faces of the greatest evil. They made me, after all."

Patamon stopped squirming almost instantly.

What was Devimon saying? _Why_ was he giving information about the enemy? Especially to _Patamon_ of all digimon, who had served him his fate in the first place? Was it some kind of joke? Was he just telling this to him as a last service before he choked the life out of him? Patamon didn't want to hear this. Why couldn't he hear silence? What if it was a trick? What if Devimon was doing this just to make him think something that was actually meant for something else?

Devimon grunted disdainfully at Patamon's confused expression. In was in that second that, in fact, he...

Opened his hand?

He'd released Patamon and waved that same hand, as if to shoo him away. Patamon was too stunned to move, afraid that the second he did, he'd get shot just as he thought he'd get away—just as he thought _TK_ would get away.

"I've seen the power of the Endless Ones... I have witnessed it many times, in-person and out. After everything the Destined did back then, I was permanently sent to the World of Darkness, where I was to rise up and become a lord of the land," Devimon said. His gaze dwindled to the nearby window, eyes flashing threateningly as he traced the rolling clouds in his mind. Patamon could almost picture his thoughts, the way the blue lightning's glow illuminated his face, the way the rain fell from his shoulders and soaked the tiles at his clawed feet. Devimon had mulled over this a long time, and Patamon knew this because _he_ himself had that very same expression many times in the past, when something dangerous was looming over his head like an unfitting nightmare.

"I've seen the tawny dawn of many mornings, Patamon," Devimon continued to explain. "But on one of those mornings, long years before the Chosen were a twinkle in destiny's eye, a choice was made, and destiny was woven, and a demon was created. At one time, this demon was an angel, a saint, a brilliant composer of hope and kindness. Eventually, of course, he—and, in turn, myself—were marred by the humanity you've set out to protect. He, like I, am searching for revenge. You see, Patamon..." His eyes traveled from the storm to pinpoint on Patamon, who was staring wildly out into the thunder that rumbled the city streets and tore into the hearts of many. Devimon's eyes narrowed, only then catching the gaze of the rookie. "You and I... we are a lot more alike than you think."

Suddenly, something uncoiled from inside Patamon's heart. It was something mean, something ugly, something brass and knuckled and jutting with red fury. It then blurred and seeped before _seething_ and Patamon found himself turning around and around to view Devimon face-to-face, his teeth clenched in a venomous snarl. "Alike?! ALIKE?! You're trying to tell _me_ that we're similar?! For beginners, you're a VIRUS and I am a VACCINE. Secondly, 'Devi'mon derives from DEVIL, I become an ANGEL. _And thirdly,_ the possibility of me even _thinking_ of doing all the things you've done is as likely as seeing a flying pig!" Patamon paused. Blinked. Glanced at his reflection in a nearby glass shard. Frowned, facepalmed, and groaned, then reiterated, "IT'S NOT HAPPENING."

"Do you think digimon are born evil?"

The question forced the creature uncoiling in Patamon's chest to squirm, like wormthreads. He was immediately dumbstruck, taken off-guard by a question he never thought in a million years would come from the lips of Devimon.

Devimon's eyes fell to an unamused half-lidded state.

"At one time, Patamon, I was just like you," he said. There was a smile that played at the corner of his lips; a smile that twitched a few times, as if Devimon was deciding whether a smile was the right expression, before the odd half-smile disappeared and the digimon grunted. "I don't want to be like that again. Frankly, I think you all are a bunch of stupid fundamental shitheads. The thing, though, is that...

"I can't take the storm on by myself.  
"And I'm _not_ taking orders.  
"Not from you, not from those damn Endless Ones.  
"I stopped taking orders that day, a long time ago...  
"So..."

Devimon loosely grinned.

"That means... like you need mine...  
"I need your help."

.---.

"A 'Soul Contract'...?"

Davis's eyes strained to peer into the bleeding fetus eyes of his enemy. The shadow beast sauntered closer to him, its fetor breath reeking into the air like bolts of sizzling sulfur. Though Davis couldn't see anything beyond a three-foot radius due to his utter lack of energy, he could still see from the corner of his eye clumps of red rubble spread across the gray beach. He could only guess it'd come from his attack, which should've torn the motherfucker into mincemeat. Perhaps it had, perhaps this monster had regenerative abilities, which was why it was able to survive his attack. Or, maybe, it wasn't rubble. Maybe it was something worse—something a _lot_ worse—something that would make his toes curl, his stomach stir, his head spin. Maybe, just maybe, the red rubble was the reason Kari wasn't moving, or maybe the reason why most of his pain had dissipated into a heart-thumping numbness.

The shadow beast inhaled a rattling breath that filled Its chest with rib-ripping gusto. A goulash of sundered energy and liquid red bolted across the figure's wide face, several of Its jaws clenching as Davis shifted painfully in the one place he couldn't move from even if he tried. That last attack was everything he had, there was no adrenaline left to pump, no attack to give as his last ace, no surprise at the end of a terrifyingly horrible fight.

There was only Man versus Beast, and, with the end of that conflict, there would soon be Man versus Self.

"**Yessss..."** the Overlord hissed, Its gaze spastically tracing the wrinkles in Davis's brow. Davis could see his body reflecting in the creature's glowing eyes, revealing the dark bags forming beneath his leaden eyes, the cadaver-clad skin that was blanketing in sweat, the rainwater still swimming across his clothes and his wet neck. The Overlord gave a scraggly snicker. **"I've eaten her soul, Davis... it's churning and screaming and suffering inside my stomach, crying to be saved."**

Davis drew in a hiss through his clenched teeth, his body vibrating with both anger and unrelenting grief as the blood began hardening and turning into a dead brown against his body. For a minute, he thought maybe he had a chance of killing the shitter right then and there, possibly gathering enough energy for another flame-exploding attack that could rupture the creature's body. Yet every time he moved his hand an inch, that same hand clenched as a stabbing pinprick of strain swallowed it whole.

There was no possible way for him to attack the monster, no matter how much he wanted to or how hard he tried.

The shadow creature merely gurgled with ominous glee.

"**Six months. That is when I will return to Earth and conquer it with three other Gods of Oblivion. We shall ascend from the deepest depths and be known only as the great 'Endless Ones'—and if you think _I_ am strong, I am but the weakest of my brethren, who will bathe your world in blood. That is the contract I made with the Wielder of Light—that she would give me her soul if I gave the Destined six months to prepare for my return."** It peeled back Its corpse-covered lips. **"But... if I were to have your soul, as well... perhaps I'd be willing to compromise how much of her soul I keep."**

"Forget it, Jackie!" Davis growled. How could It do that to Kari? How could this monster hurt her, take her, destroy her body but seal away her soul? He wouldn't allow it. Somehow, someway, someday, he WOULD be strong enough to save her! He wouldn't let the Endless Ones destroy his home and take away the woman he loved! There was no way in HELL he would let it happen! "I'm NOT going to bow to you, or any of your stupid little friends—"

_**CRAAAAAAACK**_

Davis threw his head back in a strangled scream that echoed with a cacophonous roar of bones snapping and organs rupturing. The creature's paw sunk deeper into his ribs as claws pierced Davis's esophagus, forcing the boy to choke and hiss and struggle for breath that wouldn't come. Pain rushed throughout his body as his vocal chords dribbled blood where the claws of darkness lanced through his body.

_**Heh,**_ the beast mused, **_You don't really have a choice, mutt. You have an opportunity, you know, to save her life..._**

_**Just give me your soul...**_

Davis gasped for breath.

_**Exchange it with her own...**_

His gaze traveled toward Kari's.

_**I need it.**_

Blood splattered from his throat.

_**I want it.**_

His eyelids felt heavy.

_**I'll **_**take****_ it and _mix_ it and _study_ it..._**

His lungs heaved as if they were rammed by a tungsten bullet.

_**I'll experiment, because Goddramon knows I love experimenting, guh!**_

Disgust filled his head and his chest.

_**And in six months... I'll take your lives again... because no one can beat the Endless Ones... **_**no one****_ can grow strong enough in six months to beat beings who took _hundreds_ of years to be this strong. Not you, not Kari, not your little... "_buds". _Even if you ride the wings of fate, not even destiny can't stop us now._**

Davis wanted to give a harrowing scream, but everything in his body was twisting and twining and running out of blood. _He_ was running out of blood.

_**I need your power, Davis. I need just a small slice... a small sliver... of your courage, of your friendship, of your soul... I want to eat it, hah hah... I want to break your neck and sever your spine, I want to pull your hair out strand-by-strand as you watch your little crush explode into slabs of meat. But hey, if you let her soul be eternally trapped inside my belly as your body rots in the ocean, think of it this way:**_

Davis couldn't _breathe_.

_**...You never had a chance with her anyway...**_

His jaw clenched into a gravelly growl that gurgled through a choked snipped voice. He could just barely make out any sound, any breath, any idea that murmured its way through his now-delicate frame of mind. However, in that single second, he was able to gruffly croak, "**Fuck**—" _gasp_ "—**YOU**."

_Shit shit shit SHIT._ He didn't know what to do. If he agreed to the "Soul Contract", then the Overlord would essentially have a part of his soul to do whatever It wanted with. What did that mean, anyway? If a part of his soul was missing, did that mean a part of him would be lost forever? What part would that be? And if his soul was somehow "mixed" with Kari's, does that mean he would be holding a part of her away so she couldn't gain that part of herself back? How could someone function with only a part of his or her soul?

_Fuck, fuck, fuckity, fuck, fuck FUCK. Flipping fleeting flying monkey FUCK FUCK FUCK._

But if he _didn't_ agree, then the Overlord would have _all_ of Kari's soul, which would never be able to return to her body because It just _destroyed_ her body. So even if the others defeated the Overlord and every soul It'd ever stolen was released, she was screwed. Or, maybe, if the Overlord was destroyed, maybe that meant every soul trapped inside It would be destroyed, as well. If Heaven or any other type of afterlife existed for humans, would that mean her ability to travel to the afterlife would be negated as well? If Davis didn't agree, then his death would be for nothing, he wouldn't be able to come back to life and warn the others about the Endless Ones, and he would die. His body would float across the listless tides of the Dark Ocean forever, never meeting anyone, never returning to his loved ones, never knowing the softer side of Kari's smile ever again.

_But if I agree..._ Davis thought as he coughed and hacked. _...If I agree, then It wins. I'll be playing on Its turf, rather than my own._

_If I don't agree... I'll defy It, but ultimately I'll lose my life, and possibly destroy any chance Kari has of coming back to life._

_Can I do that?_

_Can I do that to myself, my family, my friends?_

_Can I do that to Kari?_

_Oh, Kari... _**Kari.**

He stared at the motionless body lying on the sand. He could hardly make out her shape or her beautiful eyes, he couldn't see the way the dim light danced against her soft skin, or the way she should've been smiling at him. However, just seeing her, be it dead or alive, she gave him the strength and the courage to know his answer. It was obvious from the start, but even so, it was an answer he didn't want to give.

_**What will it be?**_ the Endless One cooed.

With the last ounce of his strength, Davis inhaled deeply. He tightly closed his eyes, remembering how he swore he wouldn't let darkness consume her. He promised he would save her. He _promised._

(_Promised who?_)

It was a promise he'd made to someone he didn't recognize. Though he couldn't remember her voice or what she'd done for him, he only remembered a name that flashed across his mind—_Geneva—_and in that instant, peace filled his chest, his body calmed, his strength numbed.

Through the blood caking his face, his lips spread into the Motomiya grin.

.---.

_You have one chance, Davis Motomiya._

_Do not let the light fade._

_Do not give darkness the chance to shine._

.---.

He allowed shadow to cloud his sight, to stare at the darkness behind his eyelids. His limbs relaxed at his sides, his heart thumped normally against his ribs, his breath stopped just as his heart was destined to at any moment.

.---.

_You are the only one who can save the light, who can save Kari Kamiya._

.---.

_Even if you love TK, I will always care for you, I will always be there for you, I will always protect you, _Davis thought. His smile lengthened, showing bloodstained teeth that still somehow presented the strong warmth that Davis had always held within him. It was a warmth that immediately sent shivers down the enemy's spine, a warmth that sheltered the weak and the weary, a warmth that had even sunk into the cold heart of Ken Ichijouji and soothed open wounds that he thought would never heal.

_I know—_know—_that everything will be okay in the end. That voice..._

.---.

_Just save her._

.---.

_I must trust the unseen. The disembodied voice in my head. The strings of destiny, and the miracles that thrive in my veins. _With a smile, he closed his eyes to the surrounding darkness of pain and past tribulation. _I have always trusted what most would not. I trusted Ken, I trusted you even though I didn't know you when you helped me that day, I didn't trust TK with you even though you're ten times safer with him than you ever were with me. Even so, to this day, I'd trust TK with my life—and especially yours, even if I didn't back then. If he were here... this probably wouldn't be happening, heh. But none of that matters now, because I trust you, Kari, and I trust..._

His lip curled. _I trust _**GENEVA**_._

And, with that, Davis Motomiya

OPENED

his

EYES

to Kari's sheltering

LIGHT.

With courage and friendship blaring in the determination of his eyes, he stared into the God of Oblivion standing above his dangling body. Lips teetering into a grin that the Overlord would never forget until the end of his days, Davis laughed.

And laughed.

And _loved._

"Okay, Jackiebitch," he choked.

"Deal."

Then, like thunder, the Overlord of Darkness threw his head back in a booming laugh that shook the creature's entire body like an erupting earthquake, his cobweb tongue licking his chops (long, black; a tongue that moved and appeared like smoke, weaving between the creature's teeth yet solid enough to slide across his cracked, blood-bludgeoned lips). By the time the creature had turned back to Davis, he'd fallen into a darkness deeper than that of when his fever had overcome him, deeper than the disheartening realization that he was about to lose a part of himself he would probably never get back, deeper than the darkness of a closed and buried coffin.

.---.

When Davis made a deal with the Overlord, he fell into a dreamlike state. He hadn't completely realized it was a dream, although he was vaguely aware of the fact that within seconds, the dark Soul Sucker had managed to rip apart his soul, swallow it, change it, mix it, fuse it, shatter it, play with it, _taste_ it. Davis could feel the creature's bloody tongue lick the thin membrane of his soul's fleshless body, a memory that he knew would stick with him forever, a memory that immediately caused a jolt of anger to flicker across his dead eyes.

However, there was also a part of him that vanished within seconds. A part of him that was placed somewhere else, a part that resided and stayed within the Overlord's own body as another chunk replaced what was taken from Kari's own soul. It was a delicate feeling, actually. It was like one simple breeze could shatter his body into a million shards, leaving nothing but a disembodied gaze to watch his friends pick up the pieces he'd left behind.

And, most of all, there was a part of him that was replaced by Kari's own beams of light. In that moment, he felt things he never knew, realized things he couldn't think were true, saw things through the eyes of someone else, someone different from him, someone he hadn't at first had the epiphany of Kari's presence until he found himself in a classroom full of kids about the age of six.

The kids and his surroundings were hazy, as if he were in a distant memory he'd long forgotten until the shadow beast's mind-screwing brought up sentimentalities he'd never really thought about until now. He recognized some of the kids; a few of them even went to his middle school and his high school along with him and the other Destined. He'd gotten close to a few of them, even if he was never close to anyone really back when he was six. The ABC banner was plastered near the top of the ceiling, filling the room with colorful bounciness as posters and educational wallpaper lined every painted white wall. A teacher's desk sat horizontally at left-front of the classroom, parallel of the door on the right. Between the desk and the door was a whiteboard, where a stout short woman stood with a marker in hand.

As Davis stared at the woman and then brought his gaze to examine the other kids in the classroom, the one thing Davis _hadn't_ realized was that this wasn't _his_ memory.

In fact, as he wandered throughout the memory, he actually found himself staring down at the six-year-old version of Davis Motomiya, who was told to stand up by Mrs. Watson (their first grade Reading and Comprehension teacher). He came to a dazed halt as his palms pressed against the cool surface of his desk, his nervous stare landing on the teacher as the six-year-old stumbled in his words.

"Y—yes?" the six-year-old Davis said.

Older Davis could hardly believe his eyes. It didn't take long before he realized he wasn't sifting through his own psyche, but—could it be?—a girl sitting beside the memory-holder leaned in and whispered into the memory holder's ear, "Hey, Kari, five bucks says that Davis is gonna get detention. Wanna take a bet, or are you chicken?"

_Kari...?_ Davis thought, his brow furrowing. So this was _her_ memory, then. Odd.

What made it even more odd was the fact that there was an uncomfortable crack that filled his chest. It wasn't that _he_ felt uncomfortable; actually, because this was in the past, he didn't care much at all. It was the fact that _Kari _felt uncomfortable that instantly made him realize not only could he see what Kari saw, but he could _feel_ what she felt, as well. In that moment, the both of them felt many things. Uncomfortable, embarrassed, sad, even... guilty?

Davis found it hard to swallow.

"Mr. Motomiya, I see you're doodling," Mrs. Watson remarked. Six-year-old Davis blinked and looked down at the chicken-scratch Dragon Ball Z sketches he'd drawn across his notebook paper. Younger Kari smiled sadly at the remark, her gaze fluttering across the pictures before her hand rose to stifle her giggles. They weren't malicious giggles, however; it was more the fact that Dragon Ball Z was a show Tai used to watch all the time, though she'd never really understood the attraction to it, herself. From her eyes, from what Davis could tell as her feelings reached his, she wasn't too surprised that Davis liked Dragon Ball Z, but she also thought it was kind of amusing. Especially with the fact that he was doodling the characters in one of their strictest classes.

Younger Davis then looked back up at the teacher and gave a wide-toothed grin. "Wow, you sure are observant, Mrs. Watson!"

He didn't know whether he was feeling it or if Kari was, but Older Davis was suddenly impressed with his own wry-yet-giddy sarcasm. The teacher raised an eyebrow and crinkled her nose as she typically did when one of her students felt the need to be an unrepentant smartass.

"Davis, tell me, what is 9 x 9?" Mrs. Watson asked.

Older Davis winced. He hadn't learned his times-tables until he was in fourth grade, much later than most of his other peers. It wasn't that he was stupid, per se, just that he was slower at math than they were. He would later excel in history and athletics, but at the age of six, he still kind of failed at everything: history, math, language, science, even athletics.

Six-year-old Davis bit his bottom lip in thought. Kari noted his Adam's apple bob up-and-down as he struggled to swallow, even when beads of sweat formed two inches above his temple. The younger Davis then smiled big and rubbed the back of his neck, his voice a small squeak as he said, "Thirty-three?"

"_DETENTION_."

Normally Mrs. Watson didn't give detention so easily, but Davis was one of her favorite targets because of his rather silly personality and talkative needs. He never paid attention in class, he sat alone at lunch, and his father was a bigshot businessman (which meant that, out of all her students, he was the last one she wanted to give special treatment to). That also meant that he was one of the kids she was most hard on, so in a way, she did give him special treatment, just not the favorable kind.

Kari sighed and leaned her elbows against the desk, her chin sinking into her palms as she closed her eyes.

"No deal," she told her friend.

The friend beside Kari covered her mouth as she giggled, just as the class snickered at Davis's fate. Some of them were genuinely amused, some reveled in him getting in trouble, and others were placing bets on how severe the punishment would be. Davis just grumbled something about stupidness (yes, "stupidness", not stupidity, not how the teacher or the students were stupid, just something about stupidness, probably for the punishment itself) before sitting down in his desk, his eyes heavy-lidded as he, too, sighed.

"God, he's such an idiot," the girl next to Kari mumbled as she shook her head and giggled again. Kari's gaze flickered back to the boy, who stared ahead of him like a hollow ghost. She bit her bottom lip and tore her gaze away, her emotions split between defending him and agreeing like everyone else did.

"I think..." she began, her voice directed toward the girl sitting next to her. "I think he's lonely."

"_Lonely?!_" the girl spluttered, suddenly muffling her own uncontrollable laughter with both hands so the teacher wouldn't notice her clamorous giggles. Younger Davis's stare flittered to the corner of his eye where he locked gazes with Kari, who stared back at him without replying to the girl. For a few seconds, they just stared, not saying a word, not nodding, not doing anything but watching—studying—examining each other. Though they hadn't met yet at Odaiba Elementary's soccer field, there was still a long moment in which neither recognized the other yet knew everything in one single glance. Then, one second later, younger Davis turned away from her to stare back up at the whiteboard.

In truth, Kari had always known about Davis Motomiya. There really wasn't anyone who didn't know about the loud, obnoxious, stupid boy from Mrs. Watson's class who believed he was better than everyone and everything. Davis, however, had never really noticed Kari because no one spoke about Kari, no one talked _to_ Kari, no one noticed Kari.

In elementary school when they were both six years old, Davis and Kari were complete and utter opposites.

Davis was the boy who everyone knew and everyone disliked. The dorky, annoying loser.

Kari, on the other hand, was the girl no one knew and no one cared about. The invisible girl who nobody liked nor disliked.

In the beginning, before Davis found Tai and before Kari gained the bravery to reach out to others, Kari was always sick at home. It was rare when she attended more than two weeks of class in a row, and when she _was_ home sick, she was usually out of school for weeks at a time. She was good at catching up with homework and she was an excellent student, but even so, when she thought she'd met a possible friend (like the girl who sat next to her), she'd get sick for a long period of time and... well... by the time she got back, that possible friend had long forgotten their possible friendship, and Kari was alone once again. It wasn't that no one knew her name, it was just that no one really recognized it completely.

Even so, Kari knew Davis's pain. Though her pain was different in that no one saw her, she still recognized the loneliness seaming within Davis's eyes, because it was similar to her own. Everyone saw him, but at the same time, no one _truly_ saw him, just as no one truly saw her.

When Older Davis comprehended that moment, it hit him like a bullet in the ribs. Kari... Kari saw him. She saw him for who he was and what he felt, and she knew. She _knew_.

His eyes stung with liquid warmth. He tried to stop it before it could continue, he tried to contain it by swallowing through the lump forming in his throat, he tried to cover his eyes with his hands to make sure nothing would flow from his wet oculars. Even so, he could not stop what he did not want to stop.

_Kari..._ his mind gently whispered, his hands covering his eyes as his heart gently raced. _Oh, Kari... I'm sorry I never realized... I never... I... Back then, I saw you, I did. I remember now, looking back at you when I heard you defend me. Though I didn't know your name, I... I was thankful in my heart, but I couldn't admit it, because... I was afraid._

He looked up from his hands and wiped away the tears falling down his cheeks. He stared determinedly in front of him at his younger self, who was glaring down at his desk with empty eyes. And, in that moment, through the falling fluid, Davis smiled.

_But I'm not afraid anymore,_ he added. _Now, I am not afraid to be Davis Motomiya. I am not afraid to be courageous, to be friendly, to believe in miracles. I am not afraid to _**be** _courage, to _**be** _friendship, and to _**be**_ miracles. Just as you are no longer the shy sickly girl, I am no longer the boy afraid of being himself. We've changed. We're stronger now, stronger than we ever thought we could be. Physically... emotionally... mentally..._

_I promise you, Kari._

_In one year when the Endless Ones descend, I will be strong enough to take them on, I will _**get them back**_ for what they did to you and me, and together, _**we**_ and the others will BRING. THEM. _**DOWN**.

--------------

**Author's Note:** Thanks for reading so far! In the next chapter (which will hopefully be the final one, though you _might_ and _probably_ will get a sixth one), you will meet Kari's reactions to the battle with the "Endless One", the information now received, her opinion about the Soul Contract, and her reaction to Davis's agreement – oh, and of course we get a taste of what's to come, what with Kari's reaction to having a part of her soul taken as she "meets" an odd woman who lived inside her mind without Kari ever noticing. Who could it be? Whether or not we'll be seeing other characters is possible. ;) Any feedback is desired and highly encouraged.

_**BIG NOTE:**_ Hey guys, the reason why this chapter took a while to get up is because it's not just one chapter, it's a _double whammy!_ The first chapter has been _completely revamped and rewritten_. The situations are similar, but rewritten so it's less confusing and such. I'd highly advise re-reading it, especially as it shows a few (somewhat obvious) hints as to who the main villains will be for the first half of The Lighthouse, however they are not the only villains the Destined will face. ;) This was its sixth and probably last revamp (yes, sixth -.- oi vay)! I hope you enjoy!

_**Replies to Reviews:**_

**Lord Pata:** lol, because he is not the main character of The Lighthouse, his reaction will have to wait. Patience, my friend. It will come, and when it does, it shall be glorious (though it will be in The Lighthouse main story not Love For A Fool, because this is a small story mainly about Davis and Kari, not TK – thus his reactions, like everyone else's, are very limited in this six-chapter installment). :)

**Just a Shadow on the Wall:** Thank you! I'm glad you enjoyed it, and those were a few of the moments I had most fun writing, myself. :) I hope you continue enjoying each installment.

**Anonymouse**: Thanks, and I will work hard to do so. -nods-

**Jason:** -salutes- Will do!


	5. The Scarlet Light

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ **_Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter._** Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "All The Things She Said" by T.A.T.U., "Dance with the Devil" by Breaking Benjamin, and "Close Your Eyes" by Christophe Beck.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Here I stand, helpless and left for dead  
Close your eyes, so many days go by  
Easy to find what's wrong, harder to find what's right  
I believe in you, I can show you  
I can see right through your empty lies  
I won't stay long, in this world so wrong...

"Say goodbye, as we dance with the devil tonight.  
Don't you dare look him in the eye."  
—_Dance with the Devil_ by Breaking Benjamin

**Prologue Part V  
**_...The Scarlet Light..._

_Davis..._

Somewhere within the depths of the Endless One's dark prison, Kari opened her eyes. Though she couldn't see beyond the blinding shadows covering her, there was still the realization that, out of all the people to find her – to help her, to save her – it was Davis. _Davis_. And she could hear everything he said, everything he felt, everything he was told by the "Overlord of Darkness" (as he so gracefully called himself). It hurt at first. It hurt her heart, her body, her mind – knowing and hearing that ultimate _snnnnap!_ as the shadowy creature broke bone and flesh, as Davis struggled to find Kari's light amongst the creeping gray.

Tears filled her eyes when he made an oath with the Endless One that would forever change both his and Kari's fates. The world was spinning, twisting into something that it was never meant to be. And, just like that, he agreed to the Soul Contract, and almost immediately afterwards, Kari found herself sucked into the memories of none other than Davis Motomiya.

Unlike Davis, however, she wasn't brought to a single memory. As seconds passed by, she saw whole days, whole hours, whole minutes of Davis's thoughts, feelings, humiliations and prides. She saw how he felt when the other Destined teased him or disregarded his leadership, she felt his echoing warmth when they accepted him and encouraged him through his darkest times, she listened to the confidence he held in regard to his friends, and most of all, she saw herself in his eyes.

She saw the sun's golden beams caress her rosy cheeks; she felt Davis's eyes glaze over as he stared into the trickling heat that filled his chest every time her gaze fell on his; she could almost taste the fear and the regret that _he_ tasted every time she wandered off with another boy or shot him down when he was being selfish or petty; she could sate the genuine courage it took Davis to step through the sheet of rain between them, to snuff out his jealousy over TK, to give up his one desire to save a person he loved dearly.

Kari could feel Davis's love for her own smile.

Kari could feel the sweat on Davis's brow every time he kicked in that extra goal just to impress her.

Kari could feel his shame when nothing he did was enough for her to return his feelings.

_Davis... I promise..._ she thought, biting her bottom lip. _I promise, we'll fulfill your dream together. We'll grow stronger, and stop the Endless Ones!_

Her eyes swelled with liquid warmth, her digivice humming intensely in her grasp as her vision blurred and her muscles twitched. She could feel her soul returning to her body; though her body was broken and torn seconds before, she could sense each organ sewing back together, each fleshrip scab and scar, each cell of blood multiply and reflect their mounting power.

_Together, we've come so far..._ she smiled through the tears. Her hand reached up to grip the clothes covering her chest, her eyes widening only seconds before she nodded and tore her gaze to the endless darkness above. _And together, we'll shoot forward. The Overlord of Darkness said that not even destiny can save us now. I suppose that means we'll have to pierce destiny itself and make our OWN destiny, just as the Endless Ones have! I believe in you, Davis! I believe in you, Tai, TK, Gatomon! I believe in everybody! I believe in MYSELF, just as you do, just as _**I**_ believe in _**you**_._

And, as she fell back into the consciousness of her own mind, Kari Kamiya's eyes lit up with the determination of impenetrable force.

.---.

When Kari awakened, she found herself not necessarily "awake", but still floating within the dark depths of her subconscious. There was a cold, mirthless abyss that wrapped around her, softly tucked in to each corner of her flesh like the harsh wool of a rugged blanket. She couldn't see beyond the blank shadows copsing over the membrane of her mind, encasing her every inch outside.

There were only two things Kari _could_ see: the gentle white glow of her own skin, and the lush garnet light swirling from an area nearby. The red light both pushed and pulled, absorbed and lashed out, grew brighter yet a second later (as if exhaling) grew dimmer. The process continued; push, pull, absorb, lash, strong, weak. As Kari wandered closer to the scarlet light, she realized there was something _inside_ the light, murkily crouched over a mahogany bench with various metal tools laid out over its surface.

"Who...?" Kari's voice was muffled by the rush of anxiety growing in her heart. It wasn't the first time she'd been lost inside her own mind. It had happened many times in the past, where she'd fallen asleep and found herself drifting within an endless corridor of sunless, moonless aether – a world without light within a soul one-hundred-and-two percent incandescent.

With every step Kari took through the obscurity, the something within the scarlet light fizzled, crackled, then rippled as if Kari had thrown pebbles into a pond right in the center of the figure's back. _Fsssssss_. Like static. _Drp-drp_. Like rain. Two sounds combined, smacking Kari right in the face.

"Who are you?" Kari asked the something draped in scarlet light. The figure didn't respond, only continued to crouch over the metal tools. She saw a five-fingered hand reach forward to clutch one of the instruments, delicate tips dancing over the instrument's sharp side before sliding it against another, sharper tool, making a loud crackling noise. Was the something sharpening it? "What are you doing in here? This isn't where you belong."

"It's where I've always belonged," the figure finally said. The voice – balmy and pulped with random, scraggly breaths – also sent rippling, gurgled waves of presence that sharpshooted into Kari's system. It took her a moment to register someone else speaking in the deepest, darkest corner of her mind other than herself; it was a moment the voice allowed before speaking again. "We'll be together again someday, Kari."

"Together...? Were we ever together?" Kari asked the scarlet light.

There was hesitation that echoed in the something's movements. It – or, as Kari could see beyond its movements – _she_ – stood at full height. When she turned in Kari's direction, Kari could see rolls of curly mercury-red hair that fluttered around the figure's shoulders, framing a copper-skinned angel face with soft purpled-hued brown eyes and a wide, almost brimming ruby-lipped grin. Kari didn't recognize the figure, but seeing her face lit by the scarlet light was enough to set off all the alarms in her head.

"Even if you've suppressed me, we've always been together, Kari," the woman said. Her eyes fell half-lidded, her lips pursing before pulling back into a snarling grin. "Someday, your lust is going to catch up with you. Be it a lust for blood or a lust for desire, it'll be there, and I will be there with it, and it'll be you who's sharpening this blade."

Kari glanced to the instrument in the woman's hand. It was long – about the length starting from the woman's waist to the beginning of her hairline – with a small curve just a few inches short of its apex. At the tip of its brown leather hilt there was a gleaming sapphire flickering at the center of two other gems, one a minty peridot and the other a royal alexandrite. All three stones caught Kari's attention and held it, before the woman dropped the sword where it clattered against the night-black floor.

"It'll be the sword that pierces destiny," the woman said. "You'll fail, just as you did now, to save yourself from the darkness lurking within. Are you sure you want to defy fate?"

And, before Kari could reply, the woman (and her swarming scarlet light) extinguished in a flash of spiraling gray smoke.

.---.

Kari bolted awake quick enough to jolt to her feet and stare into the blank, reddening gaze of the Endless One, who stood crouched over the two resurrected humans. Her gaze was laced with venom, penetrating the weighted apathetic expression held within the shadowy creature's oculars. As tears swam down her cheeks, Kari didn't hesitate a second to raise a pale, moonlit hand from her side and raise it just inches in front of her face. A half-peppery half-sulfury odor attacked her olfactory, causing her nose to wrinkle as blue and red light sparked within the palm of her hand.

"_You_..." she hissed, the light crackling orange embers that jetted to the sandy floor like August firebugs. "You messed with the _**WRONG DESTINED**_."

_**SHHHHHHH**_

Electricity bolted from her hand as she rushed toward the dark-furred Thing. It twisted and dodged, but Kari was quick on her feet – even quicker than Davis. It cringed as blue and red embers embedded into Its darkness, fused with the crackle of her prickling fist.

Kari had no idea how she was able to activate it – whatever her hand was carrying, some sort of light that cracked and popped like lightning – but whatever it was, she didn't care. She didn't mind. She didn't dislike. In fact, even though Kari Kamiya was the opposite of a violent person, she _quite_ liked that pulsating energy, energy that sizzled the very surrounding air.

"If you're going to attack two Destined and mess with their souls," Kari growled from the deepest pit of her diaphragm, "YOU BETTER NOT BE THERE WHEN THEY WAKE UP."

_**CRRRRRRACK**_

Maybe the Endless One was only playing along with Kari like It had with Davis.

Maybe the only reason It didn't attack her back was because of their Soul Contract.

Or maybe Kari was the only one who could truly harm the Overlord of Darkness, because Kari was the Overlord of _Light_.

"And if you're going to remove a part of their soul," Kari continued, "IT BETTER NOT BE A PART OF THEM THAT'LL SPARE YOU."

_**SSSSSNNNNNNAP**_

"BECAUSE I WILL—"

_**POPPOPopopOPOPOP**_

"**NOT—**"

_**SHHHHHHHHH**_

"_**GIVE YOU—**_"

_**CRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAACK**_

"_**MERCY**_."

Bolt blue and Spiderman red jutted from her knuckles in webbed spikes that careened right into the gullet of the fetus-eyed creature. It gave a high-pitched howl as the souls of Its stomach swished painfully loudly, each screaming shrilly as the shadowy creature landed on Its side, spraying gray beads of sand and droplets of silver water across Kari's clothes. Red splattered, splashing her face and her hands, her chest and her legs.

A ringlet of smoke crescented across her waist, stemming from the sprinkling electricity that still fractured all surrounding oxygen. Though Davis spewed orange-aching flames into the shadowy creature's face many times before and even managed to checker him, Kari was the first to rain bolts of popping, clefting lightning upon Its surprised figure.

"**We—we had a deal!"** the Endless One growled, watching as the blue and red bolts hurdled toward It.

"Well," Kari said through a thin-lipped smirk, "obviously, deals don't matter to you – you did hurt Davis right after you agreed not to hurt any of of my friends for six months, did you not?"

"**Yesssss... but you are the wielder of light!"** the creature howled. **"You are the merciful one! The forgiver! The **_**guide**_**!"**

_Listen to me, Kari._ She remembered Davis's voice as he whispered to her in the rain-sewn night. Heaven's tears were raging down upon them, dismembering thoughts of sunshine or happiness, heralding only the voice—the _Overlord of Darkness's_ voice—to consume her aching thoughts. Even so, Davis reached forward and clasped her cheeks.

_When darkness falls,_ he'd said, _you are the one link in a chain of shadows that will break past it all to create a lighthouse. A _**guide**_ to those around you._

That was why, when the Overlord's voice barely finished that single word, Kari felt a surge of berserk energy lance though her veins and erupt from her palms in geysers of crackling electricity. Lightning poured from the irises and whites of her eyes, allowing only a single black, eldritch pupil to peer beyond the barrage of sparking sapphire and ruby. Each mound of her spine jutted from her back in dragon-tipped harpoons of energy, her hair rose and fluttered before each strand curdled into wildly flickering chinks of lightning, her voice swelled into the thunderous clatter of booming static (something that seemed contrary, opposing, foiling, yet true, so _true_).

"YES." Her booming voice created breath that heaved from her throat, tainted blue and red as it rose to the aether in clouds of purple. "I AM KARI KAMIYA, WIELDER OF LIGHT, MERCIFUL, FORGIVING, GUIDING. AND WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK _**YOU**_ ARE?!"

Blue bolt-strewn boot pumped upward and was sent spiraling smack-dab in the center of the canine's chest. He let out a jolting howl, eyes widening as the wind was pummeled from him. She clenched her teeth in a feline snarl, her voice carrying over from her statement just seconds ago as her tumultuous words dashed over the surreal dusklight (light neither rosy pink or orange-yellow, but ribbons of darkening gray that grew grayer by the second, darkening light overcast by a sallowed moon).

"ENDLESS?" she asked, lightning crackling louder from her eyes, lightning that doused her cheeks.

(Davis was shaking. His palms dug into the earthy sand, fingernails digging into the silky surface of each silver bead. Specks of red dotted the ocean floor beneath him, his lips parted, his teeth gritted...)

Red electricity-veiled knuckles upper-cutted shadowy jaw. The creature bounced backwards, padded foot crashing against a rocky cliffshore, tirades of boulders raining from above as her flesh rippled with intensity.

"DO YOU THINK _**YOU**_ ARE DARKNESS?" she mocked.

(His mind was spinning. Even so, one thought remained: _Kari. Kari, what are you saying?_ Every thought twined in a ferris wheel pirouette as his muscles weakened, softened, as his spirit grew stronger, gruffer.)

Purple blades of energy slid into rugged jackal flesh, ripping bone, organ, intestine; ripping and cutting and tearing as her psyche became a mindless blank white.

"_BULL_."

_**shhhhhhh**_

(And, before Davis could fully comprehend the consequences of his actions, he was standing, walking, _running_; he was _bolting_; breaking; breaking _free._)

And, just as red nearly obscured her face in its endless stranglehold, she felt two arms wrap around her waist just as her hand rose to give the final blow right to the Endless One's skull. However, the two arms held her firmly in place, disallowing her muscles to sway, stopping every ache, every shred of hatred that gripped her heart seconds before.

"Stop, Kari!" Davis's voice rung against her eardrums. "Don't... please... this isn't you, this isn't like you!"

"Davis?" Almost instantly, her lightning hair dimmed, her spinal chord flickered, the electricity burning her eyes hummed, and her palms calmed. Her muscles loosened just enough to allow him to hug her more tightly around her waist despite the sting that must've tinkered throughout his system from even entering the ten-foot radius surrounding her godlike figure. His shoulders were trembling, his face was ducked against her stomach, his hair brushed the bottom of her bosom. "But he did this, Davis. He hurt us. He hurt _you_."

"And I hate him for it! I want him dead! I want to put him in the ground almost as much as you do!" Davis cried, his voice just barely muffled by the cloth of her stained shirt. "But... but... if it means losing you... if it means you have to become someone you're not... if it means you'll lose yourself by killing him... I can't let that happen! I care too much!"

_He... cares...?_ It seemed almost as if the world around them silenced. The wind didn't clatter against their bodies, the lightning crackling against her body dimmed to a distant rumble hardly audible, the low growl of the Endless One's dying huffs became nothing but music to their ears. Even so, Kari looked deeply into Davis's eyes, not searching for any signs of love or courage or friendship, but searching for something else – something _deeper_ – than any of the three, something deeper than the darkness that veiled his tightly-wound heart and even deeper than the light beaming within the shell of his darkness.

_What's _**he**_ concerned about?_ griped something deep inside her, something that didn't want to be stopped, something that wanted her to go on – to **finish **the job. Her gaze flickered to the nearby half-carcass who called himself the Overlord of Darkness, a half-carcass that caused her gaze to volt toward Davis again. _Davis is just like you, after all. He knows loneliness, he knows the warmth of friendship and the truth of dreams. He also knows the evilness of _**It**, _and who the hell is he to stop YOU from gaining YOUR revenge?_

But he cares.

_Why? Why should he?_ the voice sniped. _He's not the one who was plagued by the Endless Ones' nightmares. He's not the one who was mentally and emotionally tortured that last few months by the Overlord's voice. He's not the one who was kidnapped by that bastard, nor the one who has to deal with someone allying himself with the Master of the Dark Ocean. He has NO part in this and he NEVER has, no matter what he tells you!_

But he doesn't want her to lose a part of herself.

_Aww, that'd be sweet if it was what you wanted. Admit it, Kari._ She felt that inner-part smirk in thin-smoked smugness. _You don't want to be the same Lighthouse Kari that everyone knows. You want to kill the Overlord. You want to become someone – something – you're not. You want to lose everything you are, because it would make everything so much easier._

She doesn't, though. She wants to be herself! She doesn't want to become someone merciless, someone unforgiving, someone on a path leading only to destruction!

_Are you sure?_ the voice cooed. _Because all I see is a weak girl unable to stop the evil. She's too afraid to change herself. _**Change**_, Kari. If you want to defeat evil, become the one thing you're not!_

She doesn't want to!

_YOU HAVE TO._

Kari gripped her temples and attempted to tear herself away from Davis, her thoughts colliding and clashing and arguing; she could hear two parts of herself, two parts she didn't want to hear!

"Stay out of it, Davis! " Kari snapped. "It's none of your business what I do to that soul-sucking FREAK."

However, Davis wasn't going to be pushed aside that easily. His grip tightened around her, his teeth clenched angrily as he tore his face away from her lower-torso and instead stared eye-to-eye with her. His kneecaps dug into the sand, one of his muscled arms pulling her lower while the other arm was bent higher, and though there was a part of her that wanted to sink lower with that single arm of his, there was the other part of her – the determined, fierce half of her yin-yang – that refused to sink, that would rise higher with the arm that pushed her taller.

"It _is_ my business, Kari, and don't you dare deny that!" Davis said. "You're my _friend_! My friend, one of my precious ones, and someone who I've always relied on, someone I won't allow to go through this alone! _Open your eyes_, Kamiya!"

The arctic blue of Davis's crest of friendship glowed across his chest. Emblazoned bright enough to send a beam to illuminate Kari's eyes, the girl hesitated, her gaze seeping into the tears she saw streaming from his eyes. Even so, he tried to hide the tears, he tried to veil his face by burying it against her stomach, he tried to show her that he wasn't crying, that he couldn't cry, that he was brave enough to face her without a single tear.

"I'm scared..." he said. "I don't want to be. I wanted to be brave not only for you, but for myself, for V-mon, and Tai, and TK. For the others. I wanted to be brave and strong because I thought, maybe if I seemed strong, I could beat this guy and rescue the girl in the end. But I can't do that alone, and neither can you, because... by facing him alone, facing him like this, facing him by changing who we are inside, we've only lost in the end. I came here to rescue you—no, I came here to _help_ you—but if you kill It like this—" Davis's grip tightened around her waist, his shoulders trembling feebly as his voice deepened. "If you do this, it doesn't matter if I've failed in saving you, helping you; if I've failed as a man, as a Destined, as a _comrade_, and as a friend. All it matters is if you've failed to save yourself."

Kari watched him for a few listless seconds, the sparking light of her attacks buzzing and dancing across their faces. Then, without much thought, the lightning died from her palm, the spinning arguments between her two halves quieted, her hand sailed through the air, and, gently, softly, landed on the top of Davis's head.

"Buck up, goggle boy," she said. "You don't have the rain to hide your tears anymore."

The blue and red energy faded into a billowing purple mist before vanishing swiftly, gallows of its small hints barely lingering before dissipating completely into the gray air. The two were silent, unaware of their surroundings, until they heard the faint grunt of the shadowy beast stumbling to a stand.

"**You humans are always the same..."** It snarled. **"Six months from now, you'll be pulled in the depths of Cthulhu's hell. Then you'll wish you'd finished me."**

Cthulhu?

Both Davis and Kari glanced at each other. However, by the time they looked back up to ask the Overlord what he'd meant, the Endless One had already disappeared in the surrounding shadows, fading into the darkness as It'd intended both the crest wielders to do within six months.

And, though Davis wanted to remark how ominous Its comment would've been if he hadn't already heard it a thousand times before, Kari was struck with the initial fear that maybe, it was true. Deep down maybe Davis knew, as well.

Little more than six months from that day, she would be pulled – _dragged_ – into the endless abyss of the Dark Ocean's nightmarish depths, where she would regret not killing the Overlord earlier. But was that something she felt in her heart, or was it the path destiny had chosen for her? Or, even odder yet, was it the path she took when she decided to defy destiny itself?

Her gaze loomed over the spot where the Endless One vanished into shadows. Where his shadows flitted upward into the darkening sky, her stare caught onto something in the near distance. Though she'd noted its ominous presence before when she'd first arrived at the Dark Ocean, it wasn't until that moment she really watched it. Upon the nearby cliffside, hanging over the crashing waves and the rocky shores, a tall cylinder-shaped building stood erect among the near-ebony sky.

Was it a lighthouse?

No. No, lighthouses shined light out to lost ships to guide them to their destination. Instead, the off-white cylinder building poured only more darkness into an ocean filled with darkness, becoming a manifestation of the growing night.

Lighthouses did not exist in the Dark Ocean, nor the World of Darkness.

It was only the darkhouses that sheltered the cold, weary, lost, bewildered inhabitants of a cold, weary, lost, bewildered world. Darkhouses that darkened the days and blinded the nights, guiding the unknown into a path without light, without hope, without warmth or change or finding or comprehension.

Because light did not exist in a world made of shadow, bone, blood, and ghost.

.---.

_shhhhh_

(Blood.)

Cody could still remember mere hours ago, before the battles erupted across Odaiba, before thousands of corrupt digimon poured from the skies, before the world was enveloped in a dangerous war of wit and strength. All of them were dancing with devils, dancing with _destiny_, when only less than 24 hours ago, it was a peaceful sunny dawn.

He was with his grandfather.

_**shhhhhhhh**_

(It soaked his clothes, his hair.)

Cody had just reached his fifth degree in the black belt of kendo, the _godan_, which meant he didn't have a long way to go before he was at the top of the heap of great kendoka (or "one who practices kendo")—however, that _also_ meant that it would only get harder from Chikara was finally going to bestow Cody one of his priceless, ancient family heirlooms, one that he'd kept carefully safe within the greatest protective places of his many secret places. It was Chikara's most precious possession, one that Cody highly coveted because of its sharp beauty and exquisite appearance.

In essence, it was a sword, and though it embodied everything Cody wanted to be as he grew older (oneness with his body and mind, to have a thriving spirit never capable of giving up, honor, sincerity; to take pride in Japan, contribution to society and culture, and peace and prosperity), the Hida family sword was much more than just an embodiment of running virtues. By inheriting the sword, in many ways, it was Cody's final step into manhood, into _adult_hood, into the life he'd worked hard to attain.

(He watched his grandfather reach toward his grandson's bloodstained cheek.)

Through many generations, the Hida Sword was only able to be wielded by three kendo masters: one, the founder of the Hida clan who began the tradition of passing down the ultimate family heirloom. Two, Chikara Hida, Cody's grandfather, who had slain many enemies and won dozens of competitions with it in the past. And three, the final one to have ever wielded it was Cody's father, who died long before he could pull the ancient myth from its jeweled sheathe and face his nemesis with one of the most legendary swords in history. However, Grandpa Chikara told Cody how his father was exceptionally gifted at the art of sword wielding. Cody's father had even surpassed Chikara at the age of seventeen, only five years older than Cody. Ever since, Cody aspired to be just as great as his father was at that age; to rise _higher_ than his father, and to be the greatest wielder of that rich lore and bloody history. The sword was dangerous, it was warlike, it was lethal. Truthfully, it was both everything Cody desired, and everything Cody loathed.

(However, his grandfather could only smile at his sobbing grandson, admiring the man he had become; admiring the man he _would_ become.)

"_But, sensei, I can't take this,"_ Cody had told Grandpa Chikara earlier that dawn. _"I'm not nearly that good with the sword yet. I can only use bamboo swords, and... and even if I could wield it, what would I do with it? I'm not a fighter."_

_  
"Ah, but Cody, that is exactly why I am bestowing it to you and to none of my other students – I am not giving it to you because you are my grandson or because you're your father's son, nor am I giving this to you because you are the top of your kendo class nor because you are a world-renown Destined. I am giving you this blade because you are not perfect; you make mistakes, and you _**learn**_ from them. Not only that, but you are not bloodthirsty or selfish. You care for not only your friends, but for the stranger, the new, the old. You, Cody Hida, are a peacemaker. Your father would be – no, your father _**is**_ – very proud,"_ Grandfather told him. _"And, with this sword, you will do great things as both a flawed and peacemaking individual."_

(Though Cody Hida had lost his grandfather—his teacher—his _mentor—_to the evilness of MetalSeadramon, he could never forget the sword that now dangled from the scabbard at his side.)

"_Don't ever forget, Cody," _Grandpa Chikara mused, _"This sword is known only as the Dynasty Blade, one that will envelope all its enemies in the flash of its white dragon roar."_

(And, as Cody stared into the beady eyes of MetalSeadramon's murky gaze, as Cody held the body of his grandfather in his arms, as Cody swore to never let another one of his precious people die again, the Dynasty Blade hummed with electromagnetic vigor.)

"_You are my adorable grandson, Cody. Never forget that even the most benign of men must someday break the dam in order to build new ones. And, most importantly of all, never forget who you are."_

(Someday, Cody swore he would avenge his grandfather, even if it meant making use of the marred Dynasty Sword. His grandfather... his father... he'd lost both of them to the darkness of people's hearts. He wouldn't lose anyone else. Not Armadillomon or Mom, not Kari, not Davis, not Yolei or TK or Ken. Not the friend, not the stranger, not the old or the new. He would never go astray. That, he promised.)


	6. Love For A Fool

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Shackled" by Vertical Horizon, "Set Me Free" by Casting Crowns, and "Give Me Strength" by Over The Rhine.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Hoped that I would never find  
All the shit I left behind  
Now I find the child in me  
Is going to remind me that I  
I can't forget my past for long."  
—_Give Me Strength_ by Over The Rhine

**Prologue Part VI**  
_...Love For a Fool..._

Rain.

He awoke to the smell of pine and dirt, of moist air, of trickling life that burst from one side to another within his brain. Cicada songs and cricket chirps lulled him into a peaceful return from sleep. He'd meant to wake up kicking and screaming, the remnants of his dreamworld still stinging his chest, his sides, his legs. He could still feel the burn of the Endless One's paw against his ribs, could still smell the lingering stench of rotted meat and rusted blood. Yet, as he heard the distant echo of rain, he could only lie peacefully – not only because of the rain's serenity, but because of something _else_, something softer than the rain, something warmer than the rain, something more _human_ than the rain.

_drp-drp_

"Are you awake yet?" Her voice was gentler than the cricket violins.

_Drp-drp-drp_

Rain soaked his clothes, his hair, his body. It seeped into the bloodied bandages wrapped around his bare chest, pounding against the harsh rhythm of his heart. It was cold, yet being held by the young woman made all signs of chilliness dissolve into prickling warmth. He could feel heat rise to his cheeks, his arms, his stomach; it stayed and fostered inside his chest, like needlepoints and pins.

_DrpdrpDRPdrp_

"Kari..." He hadn't realized how hoarse his voice was until he spoke. He then heard a small laugh, just the tiniest of huffs, before her hand—warm, compared to the buckling rain—reached forward to brush his bangs out of his closed eyes. She fiddled for a second with his hair, then pulled her hand away.

"Shh," she whispered, "Once the rain stops, we'll go home."

"Where are we?"

"The Digital World." After she replied, he felt something silky drape over his torso. Without opening his eyes, he felt the soft wool of sewn cloth, the rugged stitching of limbs being pulled together, the light breeze that formed when something wet and heavy fluttered in the air as it was being wrapped around someone. He briefly wondered if it was his jacket before she continued, "After the 'Endless One' left, you fainted." She again softly laughed, this time somewhat wryly. "I think you have a fever."

Davis couldn't help but smile bitterly, himself. He could only assume that also after the Overlord left, a portal appeared to take both him and Kari back to the Digital World. He wasn't sure what it meant, but he _was_ sure of one thing.

"So we're safe..." The rain pitter-pattered. Davis's internal cocoon began to crack, just as his voice had. "We're okay, then. We're _okay_."

Kari didn't respond. Instead, he felt her pull him just a bit higher, so that his head rested on her lap, her fingers playing with the fabric of his collar. Though he couldn't see her expression, there was a part of him that saw her smile, the flickering sultriness of her eyes. He tried to sit up and turn to her, but his muscles stiffened. One nerve pinged in his arm while the left side of his gut twinged, as if alarming him against any strenuous movements, even if that strenuous movement was sitting up.

She again fidgeted with his hair.

Davis could feel streams of his blood wriggle against his skin, squirming as the rain washed each pint from its hardened place. It was clotted and heavy, and Davis hadn't quite realized how much of it there was until he could feel it falling off like slabs of meat, washing away with the purifying rain.

_Drpdrp_

He smiled.

"You probably shouldn't talk," she said softly. "I... don't want you to get hurt any more than you already are."

"Kari?"

Her voice made a slight humming sound in response, her diaphragm thrusting upward before plunging back in place as she awaited his question. He could feel the bandages tighten around his torso as he inhaled deeply, feeling the sweet fresh humid oxygen fill his lungs. The jacket covering his upper-bareness grew heavier with each falling droplet, soggy and muddy.

His cheeks grew rosy.

"What did you do, hm?" His voice was somehow high-pitched even in his delicate condition. "Did you take advantage of me?!"

He could tell just by the nervous jiggle of her hands that she was fighting the urge to slap him upside the head.

"Yeah, cause I would _totally_ take advantage of you in your weak, petrified, totally unprotected state," Kari snorted playfully, her fingers lightly brushing against his forehead as if to check if he was still hot or not. He gave a lopsided grin, showing off his diamond white sabers in all of their twinkling glory.

"Well, I _am_ pretty."

"Not _that_ pretty."

Davis had to stop himself from bursting out in laughter. Again, he felt Kari's hand pull away loose strands of hair. He smiled, lips pulling back into their both inner and outer warmth, his close-eyed expression softening as she continued to hold him in the spine-freezing rain. He reached up to clasp one of those fragile hands, finding them easily gripping onto his own as Kari continued to watch him from above.

In that moment, he remembered many things. He remembered the classroom, the tacky grade school wallpaper, the tiny Mini-Me desks and the gleaming whiteboard. He remembered a younger Kari, staring off distantly to a boy she both understood and didn't understand at all, a boy she both knew and could not reach. Then, he remembered his own life, and the paths he did not take. He remembered when the tables turned, and Kari grew further away, and when he reached out for her, she was already gone. Before Davis, Kari had learned to adapt, to lead, to learn, to feel again, and to reach out before loneliness was the only thing she knew.

Davis learned that, as well. It was one of many things he'd found and demonstrated and loved.

And, just as he was sure Kari had seen some things he did not want her to see or hear or know about him, he was sure that memory was something Kari had kept tightly hidden away, in a place where no one could touch it, not even her.

Even Davis reddened at the thought. A part of him prayed to God she didn't see anything inappropriate, another part was outraged that she'd seen a part of himself he'd kept neatly hidden away, while the last third of him was glad. The last third hoped she could see the side of him he was never able to put into words – the side he'd _tried_ to put into words, but only came off looking like either an immature asshat or a silly pup in crush. But even if she'd seen that side, it didn't guarantee her affection, her friendship, or her love; he didn't expect it to, because Davis wasn't her knight in shining armor. He could _never_ be her knight in shining armor, and his little trip to the Dark Ocean proved that – he wasn't able to save her, because Kari could only be saved by herself.

Had he made the right choice by agreeing to the soul contract?

Or was it the biggest mistake he would ever make?

"Davis?"

_drpdrpdrp_

Davis Motomiya once heard that it only rained when Heaven cried. Sometimes, the tears were light and gentle, as if the aether's inhabitants were smiling and laughing and crying only tears of bliss. Other times, the tears were heavy, arctic in their chilly wrath, filled with the acidic poison of hatred and despair. Rain was only a synonym for those tears – tears humans shared, tears that some humans even feared, tears that some humans even rejoiced.

He craned his neck to listen to Kari, her voice light and gentle.

_Drpdrp_

"I know this question isn't original or anything," the girl mused, "but... do you—love me? Ugh, I can't believe I'm asking, because—because we're only sixteen, and in high school, and just a bunch of stupid kids with all this responsibility on our shoulders. But. I want to know. I _need_ to know."

Davis Motomiya also once heard that water was a symbol of washing away the old in order to make room for the new. It cleansed one's sins and ushered in a new era of change, a butterfly effect where the cocoon peels from skin and releases the wings of a creature reborn into a drizzle of life.

_drp_

"You've never really been subtle about your feelings." She smiled softly, with a warmth Davis could almost feel. "My whole life, I've been alone. Frightened. Scared not only to get close to anyone, but to fall in love."

Her fingers laced tightly between his, more tightly than he remembered entwining with hers. Davis's internal cocoon stripped, lucid husk falling from newly realized revelations, from a new man, a newborn creature.

"I let people in, people like my brother and Gatomon and TK, but each represent a different part of me. My blood, my bonds, my friendship – if I let in love, _romantic_ love, then what if I lose it? What if I lose that important part of myself, and I can't get it back? You and I... we've made many friends since the days of our loneliness, when you were loud and I was quiet, friends that made me smile, that made me laugh, that made my days shine." She smiled, her hands seeking the warmth of his. But the rain was so _cold_, so bristling, so quick, so free, and Kari was so tired, so stiff, so weary, so _trapped_. "We've grown into these strong, independent people. So if I love you, if I fall for you, if I finally reach out and touch you, will I lose you? Back before our adventures in the Digital World, it seemed like I couldn't keep a friend for more than two weeks. I never want that loneliness to fill me again, I don't want to lose love, because I'm not afraid to love; I'm afraid to _lose_ love."

_drpshhhhdrpdrp_

Though they'd long-since left the Dark Ocean, it was almost as if Davis could still hear the waves crashing upon the shore, consuming each sparkette of sand, each pebble of rock, each floudering flake of seaweed. He could hear Kari's voice break, could feel the tremble of her body, could see the darkness behind his own eyelids.

_Shhhhh_, the waves murmured in his mind.

If the tide grew bigger, would it consume them again? If he allowed the darkness of her heart to grow, would they be unable to get away from the twisting and twittering gales? It was like a looming spirit, swallowing his mind, his memories, his muscles. As he listened to Kari, he could also hear her pain, her sorrow, a despair that touched even the bone-breaking pressure of the Dark Ocean's depths.

_Shhhh_

In his mind, he could see small 8-year-old Kari sitting at her desk, waiting for a friend to take her hand and guide her toward a life full of excitement and fun, a life without worry or sadness or fear. She wanted to be guided toward a path filled with smiles and laughter, a path where she was surrounded by people, people who loved her just as she loved them.

_Shhh_

In Davis's mind, he was the one who reached forward and took her hand. Though Kari was no longer that lonely 8-year-old, just as Davis was no longer that self-hating 8-year-old, he was still the one who lightly pulled her forward, guiding her, just as she guided him, to a road of rallies and rich mirth.

_Shh_

In Davis's mind, he wasn't guiding Kari. He was walking beside her, as they guided each other into an odd, foreign world, filled with things they didn't understand, filled with things neither wanted to understand.

"So... do you?" She bit her bottom lip in thought. "Do you love me, Davis?"

_sh_

And, as the 8-year-old wandered through the darkness of Davis's psyche, the older boy smiled. He smiled, clutched her hand more tightly than he thought he could, and opened his eyes.

He opened them to supreme glow of light that was her skin, the lucent unfrailty of her movements, the luminescent glee that shined in her weary gaze. Ruby red heat pumped into his cheeks. A second later and he reached up to clasp his hands around his bare chest, fingernails digging into the flesh wrapping around his left breast.

She tipped her head to the side, neck craning delicately as she peered back into his eyes, like looking into an abyss.

Even so, Davis could only nod.

_Do you love her?_ His own voice echoed. _Do you truly, really love her?_

"To be honest," he said, his smile becoming a brittle recrudescence. "I'm just a fool for love."

And, in Davis's internal mind, a pair of wings broke through the diamond-fragmented cocoon. They hovered, then flitted, spreading eagle as hands clamped down on either side of the internal cocoon and prepared to take off into the daylight beams.

(_But together, we've come so far,_ Kari had said in her inner-sanctum, where she'd seen the waning scarlet light.)  
Davis smiled.  
(_And together, we'll shoot forward._)  
Despite the crackling pain, the shoot of twinges, the unrecalled agony riveting in his side,  
(_The Overlord of Darkness said that not even destiny can save us now..._)  
Davis sat up.  
(_I suppose that means we'll have to pierce destiny itself and make our OWN destiny._)  
He leaned forward, staring into the widening eyes of Kari Kamiya.  
(_I believe in you, Davis!_)  
He watched as she tilted backward slightly, as the realization hit.  
(_I believe in you, Tai, TK, Gatomon!_)  
He waited, listening to thrum of rain cascading, of hitting, of splattering across hair and cloth and bark.  
(_I believe in everybody!_)  
And he reached, reached forward to lightly clasp her cheek, her cheek so _warm_ against his palm.  
(_I believe in MYSELF, just as you do, just as _**I**_ believe in _**you**.)  
And Kari grasped his hand back.

"Davis," she whispered. Epiphany swirled in her doe browns, lightly gliding back and forth, zooming between his right and his left eye, before a smile lightly took her own expression, as well. It melted into her childlike radiance, becoming another ardorous shard in a million other splinters. "When we were kids, TK and I—we were always together. Inseparable. He's always been my other half."

"I didn't notice," Davis snorted.

Kari's smile wanned, then returned as she looked off distantly into the rumbling clouds. Soul lit up in the dark corridors of her rich movements; movements that echoed her inner-thoughts, her inner-choices, her inner-being. "TK's always been there for me, to help me through thick and thin. When we were kids—well, _younger_ kids, hah—saving the Digital World—he saved my life on more than one occasion, and I don't think I could ever thank him properly for everything he's ever done for me. I guess, he's always been my knight in shining armor."

Davis's winced. Every time _he_ tried to play knight in shining armor, it had a tendency of blowing up in his face. It was either that Kari had already saved herself, or either Tai, TK, or Gatomon had already done the trick _for_ him. Maybe that just wasn't who he was. Davis was a protector, a Destined, a Chosen of courage and friendship, and on occasion even miracles. But he wasn't a knight, nor shining, nor did he particularly enjoy armor.

However, in that moment, Kari leaned forward to press her lips to his forehead, causing Davis to jolt his expression upward to peer into the brightening eyes of a girl he was desperately trying to understand in the thick of the rain. Davis had understood Kari the moment he'd first laid eyes on her in the classroom, but now that he knew her, now that they knew each other, everything spilled into the other, nothing made sense, nothing was truly understood. They did things the other didn't understand, didn't _expect_, and enjoyed parts the other didn't want them to enjoy.

But Davis... Davis quite enjoyed that second of iridescent heat.

"What I'm trying to say is that... I love TK," she said. "He's an important part of myself that I can never replace, never hate, never disrespect. I don't know what kind of love that is – brotherly, romantic, platonic – I'm just not sure. But there _is_ one thing that I _am_ sure of."

_drpdrpdrp_

Rain fell all around them.

A sheet of it stood between them, like an inseparable barrier; an unbreakable Trojan wall that neither thought they could break. Hours ago, Davis built himself a Greek horse and snuck behind the stony gates, reaching out to her to help her get through what would become one of the hardest, most horrifying moments of Kari's life. At the time, Kari's Troy was burning.

Now, Kari's Troy was rebuilding, reshaping, regrowing. Rising above memory, above history, above prior thought, she would reconquer what she'd lost and make it _hers_.

Now, it was _Kari_ who moved through the thin sheet of rain between them, and reached out to break the unbreakable barrier.

"I want to get stronger, better, I want to improve myself for the sake of the others – for _myself_," she said. "I want to protect them, especially Gatomon, especially Tai, especially TK and Yolei, and all the Chosen, all the _worlds_. And most of all, I want to gain that strength with _you_. I remember what it was like, when I was fighting to be heard, and you were fighting to be recognized as the person you were and not the person you seemed. We were so afraid to truly reach out, fearing what trouble may catch us. But we're not alone anymore. I want to fight away my loneliness, I want to fight away _your_ loneliness, and to break away pain caused by the wounds the Overlord reopened. Together, we'll wash away our fears, because not even the rain is neverending. Davis, if you're a fool for love, then I have love for a fool!"

_Love for a fool._

The rain thundered around them, splitting into five droplets as each free water-spark collided with the ground, the trees, their bodies. The cumulus above them rolled with fastening vigor, Zeus's gales pushing them into serene off-gray puffs of cloud. Then, as tendrils of darkness flattened into the atmosphere, the clouds broke away, revealing a beam of golden light that shot down and splayed across Kari's sunlit face.

The rain halted.

The moist, lingering scent filled Davis's senses.

His pupils shrunk, irises fading as his eyebrows rose and his eyes grew larger.

And, as the golden rays from the spherical sun descended in writhing tentacles of light, the trees grew greener, the forest around them grew louder, and both teenagers peered up into the blue sky that peeked out beneath the clouds. Davis reached up to veil his eyes from the unexpected brightness, though he focused on the retreating gray bodies journeying further and further behind.

Davis grinned.

"Well then, Kari Kamiya," he said simply, "If you believe that strongly, I'm just going to have to be your fool any day of the week, _all_ the days of the week."

He turned from the glaring sun to view her face, which peaked with just the smallest of corner-tipped smiles. She tilted her head back, her soul belting its amusement, before she, too, reached forward and rested her hand on his head. Leaning forward so her nose nearly touched his, the girl replied, "Then come, fool. Your girl is awaiting her boy."

"'Her boy', eh?" He gave his cut-lipped Motomiya grin. "I like the sound of that."

.---.

They'd entered this war through a sheet of rain.

Now they would walk into the sunshine.

But the sun would not be there for much longer.

_Six months,_ the Endless One breathed. _Six months, and the sun will never shine again._

--------------------

**Author's Note****:** Well, here's the final chapter of The Lighthouse: Fool For Love! Keep an eye out for "The Lighthouse", an adventure that will envelop all the Destined both old and new. Thanks! Oh, and make sure to tune in for the following epilogues! The epilogues will also answer some questions about Devimon, Cody's situation, Tai meeting Kari again, and a sneak peek at the main villains of The Lighthouse.

**Replies to Reviews****:**

**Lord Pata**: _"but what's going on here, why Devimon is telling all that to Patamon? though I like how you portrayed Patamon, all serious, angry and without a lot of boldness on each of his words."_

Hehe. You'll find out. It'll be a very poignant part to TK's characterization in the main Lighthouse story.

**8394coolboy**: _"Nice rewrite! i was hoping you'd rewrite it,s o yeah. Keep the good stuff coming."_

Thanks! I'll do my best. :)

**Anonymouse**: Thank you very much. ^^ It would be pretty kickass if they beat the Endless Ones, considering how gosh dang overpowered they are (as we'll see in later Lighthouse installments).

**Jason**: Will do! ;)

**Lord Pata:** _"pretty intense chapter, everyone is having their own fights, Patamon facing Devimon, Davis and Kari on the dark ocean, Cody his own personal fight, you sure enhanced the characters to a new level withot make them lose their real selves from the series, well done! ^^"_

Thank you! That's one of the greatest compliments a fanfiction writer can get, to be honest (well, imho anyway). Fanfiction is a major writing exercise for me, to make sure I can write characters and keep them in-character in order to make sure I can keep my _own_ characters in-character when I'm writing my own stories (you know, "If you can keep someone else's characters in-character, then doing so with your own will be no problem at all!"). So thank you, and I will work hard to make sure the characters lead the story rather than the story leading them!

**Goggleboy4444:** _"Bows, thankyou, I have craved a digimon story like this like nothing else. So thank you, alot, seriously. I needed something like this to look forward to."_

No, thank _you_! I hope this story continues to sate your cravings. ;)

"_First off, your first chapter was beautiful, I hope you know that. It was very confusing until the third or fourth read through, but with language and flow and wit such as that I am willing to make sure i comprehend."_

I'm just glad you were even willing to read it three or four times, lol.

"_My only real complaint so far is that your language isa bit hard to read, all the stuff in parentheses and the bolded stuff crud. Its just hard to comprehend the message your getting out obviously your an accomplished writer i dont want to ruin your style but just know we are having a hard time knowing your message."_

Thank you for the concrit, it's highly appreciated. :) The parentheses technique is actually something I picked up from reading a wee bit too much Stephen King. The funny thing about parentheses is that I use it to emphasize or reveal what can't be emphasized/revealed in the actual narrative at that moment, giving tidbits of other scenes or thoughts or epiphanies at the same moment. The only real downside to it is that it interrupts the narrative, so I'll have to be much more careful about that from now on. Thank you!

**Booklover13:** _"This story will be Epic and Awesome. The writing is good and well thought out, plus I like your style. I don't care what happens from here on in because this is the first time I have seen a Cthulhu referance on FanFiction. That means that this story will be great no matter what what happens. I can't wait to see what happens next."_

Thank you very, very much! Haha, HP Lovecraft is the absolute bomb. There'll be more references to many of his other Cthulhu Mythos, though it won't override the plot or anything. All I know is that I'm excited to write in elements from his own world, since it is without a doubt a really fun/creepy world.

"_P.S. Have you ever played Arkham Horror?"_

Unfortunately, I have not! Though, I've heard a lot of splendid things about it. I plan on playing it sometime soon, though I'm not sure when I'll have the time to. :(

**Deadkid23:** Ahaha, thanks very much. :) I hope it'll get even better from this point on.


	7. Epilogue I: Endless Brethren

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Head Like A Hole" by Nine Inch Nails and "Never Too Late" by Three Days Grace.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"The most merciful thing in the world, I think, is the inability of the human mind to correlate all its contents. We live on a placid island of ignorance in the midst of black seas of infinity; and it was not meant that we should voyage far."  
—_The Call of Cthulhu_ by HP Lovecraft

**Prologue's Epilogue Part I**  
_...Endless Brethren..._

When the jackal teleported to Depths of Nowhere, blood skittered across his skin like worm-strewn streams. His chest pounded upward and downward in extreme sharpness, breath heaving from his ungodly lungs as he half-collapsed on the tiled floor beneath him. His red glowing eyes adjusted to the dim lighting, lighting that wasn't quite as gray as the Dark Ocean's, but colorful despite the spread of shadows casting brown-streaked starlight across his blood-speckled skin.

His head drooped, chin pressing against the top of his chest before his eyes widened.

He could feel another presence within the Depths of Nowhere; _three_ other presences. He could feel the jagged presence of one of the figures, an aura that spiked outward like earthy stalagmites. Another flowed, pushed, pulled, swishing and sploshing in jetsam and flotsam – a presence that coiled over him and drowned his own presence in its thick wet fury. The last presence he felt was mammoth, as if it loomed over him, a trembling mountain moving sluggishly in his direction. However, the mountainous presence was still quiet, serene, unmoving.

Every time the jackal visited the Depths of Nowhere, he felt that gargantuan presence no matter where he went or what he did. It was a murderous aura, one that weighed heavily on his chest, on his shoulders, on his head, one that felt like somebody's boot was smashing against his ears over and over and _over_ again. Even so, because the Depths of Nowhere was the oceanic mountain's domain, there was nothing the jackal could do to get away from the murderous intent within the presence's inner-turmoil.

"Back so soon?" echoed an exquisitely harsh voice. The jackal peered up from the blood puddle he'd created, his stare landing on the wide-hipped digimon standing at the wooden doorframe. Woodwork wasn't hard to find in such a big, empty palace. It surrounded each window, each doorway, each arch, each scrap of furniture fabric. Polychrome from blaring reds to fuzzy yellows spread across the carpet, the couches, the walls, splashing technicolors into an otherwise dull room. However, it wasn't the beauty of the palace that caught the jackal's attention, but the female digimon standing delicately at the hatchway, one of her shoulders leaning lightly on the frame, her long arms folded over her chest, her pinched waist gleaming in the silver moonlight as her neck craned to view him stumbling to a stand. Her nose wrinkled. "You're so weak, _'Overlord of Darkness'_."

She let out a snarling chuckle, one that rumbled from the inside of her chest as she ruthlessly mocked him. But that was alright. He'd show her, her and the other Endless Ones, because _he_ was a _splendid_ overlord. He was powerful and someday, yes, someday he would rule over every shadow, every nook and cranny that exposed darkness from underneath the underneath. He'd conquer every hearth in a merciless battle for the soul. Someday, that would be the Overlord's fate.

For now, however, he only stood from his position on the ground. He forced himself to stop panting in front of his superior, his eyes falling half-lidded as the shadows around him grew brighter for a mere few seconds. His skin glinted lightly against his eyes, just enough to relieve any sort of threat in his presence. If the Leporidae digimon sensed any sort of fear, anger, or hostility in his presence, he knew she wouldn't hesitate to blow his brains out.

Even one-on-one with the Goddess of Moons would do no good but to reassure his short life would be, well, short.

"Did you get our message across?" she asked, her voice primly sharp.

"Why, of course," he replied. The deep gashes in his skin hovered over his body's darkness before seeping into a scab, then becoming nothing but invisible blackness. The womon watched him with quiet endeavor, saying nothing at all as her fellow Endless One stepped toward a nearby cornerdesk, which harbored a stainless silver platter with a bottle of red _Pinot Noir_ wine, four half-hourglass-shaped wine glasses, and several white folded napkins which laid across its gleaming surface. Ignoring the wine and glasses (at least, for now), he picked up one of the napkins and delicately unfolded it before dabbing it on an unhealed wound in his arm. He stained the white into a dark mahogany red, teeth briefly clenched before his voice continued, "He's still sleeping in the Dark Ocean's depths. I can feel it, can feel _him_. Have you and the '_king_'_—_" his voice grew wry, "—recovered the Necronomicon?"

"Of course." Even from his distance, in which half her body was veiled by villainous shadow, the jackal could see her white-fanged grin which spread across her face in a jack-o-latern fashion. "It's just as creepy as Peach thought it'd be. I can't wait to use it. I've been waiting so long to meet a Great Old One, and it's been an eternity since he and I've spoken..."

"I hear he has the Creeping Chaos on his side," the jackal noted.

"I hear he's hated by the Unspeakable One," the Moon Goddess replied. Her smile loosened, body briefly relaxed before her gaze flittered to a nearby window. Her eyes glazed with uncertain distance, hands clenching and unclenching into tightly-knit fists. "Peach is worried about him. He's worried a lot nowadays."

"He doesn't like it when you call him Peach," the Overlord grumbled.

The womon threw her head back in a hoot, shoulders shaking with rupturing laughter as the Overlord cringed. She was swift to snap her head back to the front within a millisecond, eyes wide and bulging to the point where he could hardly see a pupil in them. The acidic blue-gray of her eyes shifted into their silver stone tone, body as swift as her eyes as she pulled herself forward into the Overlord's bubble and clenched her fingertips tightly down on either sides of his neck, pinching anti-skin until he winced.

He wanted to say something. To _do_ something. But he could feel her aura; he could feel the very emotion that defined her radiating off her skin and pouring over him like a ravaging waterfall in summer. The underwater pressure cracked into his skin and scattershot into his eyes, peeling back his lids as her fingernails dug into shadow until she could feel the skin beneath.

"I'll call him what I want to call him," she said, leaning forward just enough to whisper into the Overlord's canine ear. "Just like I call you weak, worthless, and witless, I call him Peach, because he is _my_ peach, and if you dare take that away from me, I'll take away your _life_."

"Not as long as I have your Other Half," he growled.

Instantly, her hands wrenched away from his shoulders as she realized what he'd said. Her Other Half. _Hers_. He knew it was her absolute soft spot, a soft spot he fully intended to play with. Though the Soul Sucker was the weakest of his brethren, he was also one of the most clever. They did not know all the tricks he had up his sleeves, nor the doublecrossing soul-stealers he had hidden in his regime. They weren't the only ones who knew how to utilize their tools – the Overlord knew, too.

She drew back her twitching fingers. They hovered for a few seconds, as if trying to decide to launch forward again or stay back, before they rested at either of her sides. She peeled back her lips into a stark grin, gray bags forming beneath her eyes as she hollowly snickered.

"You won't have my Other Half forever..." she cooed. "And when I have Him, I will take Him, and you will be nothing, Soul Sucker."

"As long as I live," the Overlord told her, "he lives, too."

.---.

R'lyeh was once a glorious city seeped in rich lore, sending millions of humans, non-humans, and digital creatures buckling to their knees. Its oddly-angular buildings and Cyclopean monolith tips spiked outward, jutting into a ruthless, oozing air that seemed tainted by murky green miasma. The city itself was built on bizarre, foreign architecture, accompanied by material so utterly unearthly it could only be called alien. At one time, R'lyeh was built on a foundation of slaughter, gleeful chaos, and the ways of murder – sacrifices were neither good nor evil, sin was a frail attempt at defining something undefinable, and disarray was a jumble of human emotion and digital physicality.

And, at the center of this havoc (havoc that strung outward, beyond R'lyeh's blackish-green obelisks and its cadaverous jungle), there was a cephalopod monster bloodthirsty in nature but graceful in gesture. Its body was made of breathless-blue tentacles, dead and decaying as they stretched like moist leathery parcels of false flesh. Wrinkles tottered inmost of the creature's face, forming twitching feelers and expanding tendrils of thick, octopus-like whiskers. Chained around the great monster's neck was a beaded rosary, off-white in color and malevolent in aura as it connected with the golden ringlet shackled around the beast's fore-leg.

Of course, the Wrathful Demon – who stood at the remnants of the sunken city – had never really seen the rubbery fleshwrinkles of the great monster. He'd heard rumors of the blood-red hieroglyphs that engraved Its evil body, of the black deadlights in Its curved-inward eyes, of the seaweed-redolent wings that spread treacherously as gray light splayed through their rotted-red membrane. The Wrathful Demon had seen pictures, statues, bas-relieves, undying cults of the great monster's horrifying, mind-numbing, spine-chilling appearance, and even so, the Wrathful Demon also knew that the things he heard were grossly beyond titular for the mammoth terror that lied both dreaming and dreamless behind the gateway of the broken R'lyeh city.

The great monster lied waiting within a cluster of poison-exuding citadels, all gaunt with black, haggard harpoons that shot out like scraggly claws, reaching for the unreachable. As the Wrathful Demon approached one citadel's wide russet-colored gateways, an old brassy knob shot forward and nearly ripped into his gut. He clasped it tightly, clawtips clinking against its echoing coldness.

In that moment, the Dark Ocean shuddered.

To the Wrathful Demon, he could feel the tidal waves resonating with humming, elastic energy, shriveled and damp with writhing gruffness.

Goosebump-teasing tingles traveled up his spine.

His red cloak fluttered beneath his feet as a quiet gale tugged at his body.

And, with a quiet unfearing grunt, the Wrathful Demon spoke words of apocalyptic fury – words he'd only read from the fleshy, blood-scrawled text of the immemorial _Necronomicon_ – and yanked the gateway open with a simple, enduring pull. His muscles twinged, giving him a moment to stare into the endless black depths beyond.

A rotted stench then viciously assaulted his nostrils, as if he'd ripped open the door of a googolplex tombs. He heaved, grimacing furiously as he reached up a hand to clamp around his face as the eradicating odor assailed his eyes, stinging them until tears formed. It burned his rubbery flesh, tearing at his bloodstained fangs, touching his tongue with an indescribably disgusting taste. The only way the Wrathful Demon could describe the smell was beyond death – not even a corpse would dare peel such stench.

_Yggdrasil at the Zenith Gate!_ the Wrathful Demon innerly cursed, eyes widening for a mere few seconds before he lurched backward and stared into the malignant yellow glow of something in the tomb's near-distance, a pair of spherical hovering orbs that he couldn't quite define. Once his initial reaction had calmed, he peered deeper into the darkness, discovering that the orbs were not, in fact, orbs, but a pair of eyes, staring into the thick of the Wrathful Demon's blackening veil.

Immediately, he wrenched himself away, hiding his face beneath his cloak's darkness as he watched something within the darkness shift.

The Something – like a trembling mountain – gave one titanic movement, causing the earth beneath its hind feet to crush and shake as several trees outside tumbled downward. The Wrathful Demon continued to stare into Doom, into the eyes of the great creature he'd sought for so long.

The Something – the great monster – had been right in front of him all this time, yet he hadn't known.

"You've awakened," the Wrathful Demon said, his voice rugged. It rippled unrealistically in the Dark Ocean's depths, sterling and whirling in all of its mighty magnitude. Though his voice was but a single string of words, they carried with them the weight of a hundred war songs, drumming to a heralding beat. The heralds spun death, peril, and pain in one verse, and the End of All in the last.

The trembling mountain stirred from Its resting place, a pair of sickening dead-blue tentacles reaching beyond the darkness to caress the ground at the Wrathful Demon's feet. Though the great monster could not see the demon's face, the demon grinned, knowing that soon, within six months, the stars would align, and the two great lords would rise from the abyssal deep into the zenith light. Together, with the Moon Goddess and the Soul Sucker, they four would descend humanity into their nightmarish nadir, where they all would sit and rot like the plague they always were.


	8. Epilogue II: Maybe Letting Go

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Mad World" by Gary Jules, and "Well" by Hurt.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"I'm guessing either I'm dead or I'm lucky instead  
And the shame of this will haunt me  
Then strange voices started making noises  
Out of something boring  
Then I made my choice to

Find  
Another way  
Yes, I would  
Find  
Another way, yeah"  
—_Well_ by Hurt

**Prologue's Epilogue Part II**  
_...Maybe Letting Go..._

All around them, digimon spaced out in rows of marching bandits. Devimons, Diablomons, Boogeymons, Gulfmons, Goblimons and Ogremons and Numemons, a variety of different digimon drilled through the Odaiba city like the bustling streets were mere thin sheets of paper. Hours later, their numbers were beginning to thin (just a bit, the Destined had made the smallest of dents in the invading armies); later rather than sooner, they began to grow sparser, then infrequent.

It came suddenly. Tai, Matt, and Sora were still fighting back-to-back, side-by-side with their digimon, when the descending digimon began to once again _ascend_ back to the long, gaping skygash that stretched across the darkened sky. It hung there like a blossoming, black hole in the aether, leading to an intervening dimension none of them knew. It was the eldritch world from whence the corrupt digimon came, maws bleeding hunger and claws feeding anger. They escaped from their dark prison hours ago, but now they were being pulled back, _forced_ back, into their poisonous, wretched home.

As the corrupt digimon armies slithered back to their home dimension and the rainy clouds began to part, Tai looked up to the sky and held a hand to his face, shielding the light from reflecting within his eyes. He stared listlessly into the hardly-interrupted blue, which stared back in the halt of belting rain.

Before long, none of the three elder Destined found any warring digimon. The digital flesh fled at the sight of the titanic Chosen, who stood firmly and without regrets above the pile of rubble that was once their home. In the near distance, Matt could hear the hoarse cries of people who'd lost homes, who'd lost loved ones, who'd lost the things that mattered most to them. In the near distance, Sora could hear the scuttle of claws and paws as the corrupted digimon retreated back into the DigiPort writhing within the sky. In the near distance, Tai could hear the wind play with loose strands of his cedar hair, intimately hugging his strained and sticky, sweaty body.

They'd _fought_ to see this moment.

They'd _fought_ to watch the retreating digimon.

They'd _fought_ to witness the string of families coming together again, of digimon rejoining with their partners, of people regaining the hope lost when the digimon initially began attacking.

They'd _fought_ to smile as they did that moment, staring into the eclipsing sky that swallowed the clouds, then consumed the shadowy skygash whole.

"TK..." Matt wrenched himself away from the sight, his legs instantly lunging in the direction of Odaiba Hospital. He'd barely given himself time to enjoy the beautiful sight before he was off, he'd had his fill the moment he saw the sun shine. If he didn't hurry, his _real_ sun—his internal, psychological world—would burn and bury itself. He briefly turned in Tai and Sora's direction, his voice aimed toward them as he said, "I have to make sure he's okay!"

"Wait, Matt!" Sora took a step forward to follow him, her eyes widening as she watched tears fill and fall from his eyes. He'd been holding them in, she knew. He couldn't allow himself to cry, not in front of her, not in front of Tai, not in front of _anyone_, not until he was able to check on TK. She didn't want Matt to face the half-dead form of his brother by himself, even though there was a part of herself that told her she should've allowed him to do it by himself.

_He doesn't need you,_ she told herself. _Matt's always been alone. Always _**preferred**_ to be alone. That's the way he grew up, because relying on people means allowing yourself to get hurt by them. This is Matt's moment with TK, and it doesn't involve you._

Then there was the other part of herself—a part of Sora that radiated with the red glow of her crest, warming her chest, her heart, her soul. She smiled, watching Matt fly toward the hospital on his own, blond hair billowing in the victorious gales. He was windswept and bloody, and even WereGarurumon was so tired he was having troubles keeping up with the human boy, but in that moment, she'd never seen him look stronger.

_But I want it to involve me,_ she realized. _No one wants to be alone. For a while, I wanted to be alone, too, until Biyomon showed me that allowing others to love you is just as important as loving others._ Her gaze turned to the panting pink digimon beside her, who blinked up at her partner as Sora gave her a tender stroke atop her head. _Matt doesn't prefer to be alone. He's afraid of being alone, of facing things by himself, because that's how he's always dealt with things – by himself. But I won't let him do that to himself, not anymore_.

"I'm going with you!" Sora called out to him, bolting to his side as quickly as her legs could carry her. However, there was a moment of pause; of wonder; as she felt a pair of hands lightly clasp one of hers, pulling her back with almost enough force to make her jump. She frowned, her reddening gaze pinning Tai's as the brunette gently held her back by her hand. "Tai...?"

"Sora, don't go," he said, brow furrowing. His knees wobbled beneath him, his expression appealing to the other side of her – the side that sympathized with his own concern, his own desire to face his fears with someone by his side. He still didn't know where Kari was, or if she was even okay. She could also tell by the look in his eye that there was now something jaded about Tai. He wasn't necessarily uncaring (quite to the contrary, he cared a lot—more than some other Chosen Sora knew), but there was something else in the depths of those rustic browns, something dark. He was wavering, like Sora, on what he should do. Chase after Matt, or remain outside to wait for his sister's return? He didn't want to wait alone, just as Matt didn't want to face the possible corpse of his baby bro alone.

But Sora had already made her choice.

"I'm sorry, Tai," she said gently, attempting to remove her hand from Tai's grip. "But— just— just let me go!"

Without much strain from Tai's end, he pulled his hands away from hers, and while Sora gave him a saddened expression, she still turned away and ran toward Matt, leaving Tai to watch the two Chosen as they ran and ran, ran to check on the child they _did_ know the location of. Sora knew Tai understood, and she knew he was hurt, frustrated, stressed, all that fun stuff. She wanted to stand beside him and wait, but there was another matter even more urgent than that – a matter she had to take care of first, not only because she promised herself she wouldn't let Matt do it alone, but because she wanted to take care of it first, because she _needed_ to take care of it first.

"We'll be back, I promise," Sora called after him, watching as Tai stood stiff, his hand still raised midair touching only the moist humidity.

However, as Sora craned her neck one final time to see Tai before he faded in the distance, she watched him look out in the distance, eyes glazed and smoky. They peered into the sky, conveying the wonder he and many others felt in their hearts.

Where was Kari? Where was Davis?

Were they alright?

Were they dead?

.---.

"Kari...?"

As the droplets of rain trinkled out and sunshine splayed across Odaiba's growing rubble, as Tai raised a hand to block the incandescent light and peer into the near, dear distance where he could see his sister and Davis walking toward him, Tai felt his heart rapidly flip-flop and his knees nearly give out beneath him. The only thing that kept him standing was that Kari was _there,_ she was _okay_ – she was moving on her own two feet, side-by-side with a certain pair of glistening goggles.

Tears welled up in Tai's eyes, but he didn't let them fall. Instead, he felt his legs belt forward as he cried out his sister's name, feet moving jaggedly across the burned and soggy remnants of their toiled city. Though most of the other Destined had spent their afternoon cleaning up the wreckage from the vast battle, Tai had spent it getting in contact with other Destined from around the globe while also trying to stay in touch with Gennai, who was desperately trying to contact Kari and Davis themselves.

"Kari! Kari! KARI!"

When her older brother finally arrived, he sailed through the air and tackled her, forcing both of them to the ground as he wrapped his arms around her in a tight embrace. Finally, the warm tears poured down his cheeks, his lips creased into a wide smile as he hugged her (rather disgruntled) figure to his chest.

"Er, Tai—" she began, only for Tai to cut her off.

"Oh, my darling cute little sister!" Tai hobbled to a stand, taking Kari with him. "I was so worried about you! Don't you ever do that to me again! Hear me? Not ever!"

"Hey, hey, it's alright," she replied with a blush. "You're acting like Mom, Tai."

"Yeah, well, _somebody's_ gotta," Tai grunted. Kari blinked, but her older brother merely shrugged and let go of her, his smile widening as he nodded to the nearby Odaiba Hospital, which still stood tall amongst the surrounding crumbled buildings and concrete foundations. He pressed his palms against his sides, staring deadlock into the hospital's bright depths. "Both Mom and Dad were injured. Nothing terrible, they'll survive, but they're both in there. With how backed up the hospital is, though, we probably won't be able to see them until tomorrow."

"And what about you?" Her gaze flickered to the deep slash in his arm. Tai huffed and attempted to hide his arm behind his back, despite the movement's utter tardiness. She folded her arms and raised her eyebrows, but Tai just gave a semi-toothy semi-frustrated grin.

"Don't worry about it."

"Oh, I worry."

"It's just a souvenir from Myotismon." His gaze wandered toward the ground, where he saw Agumon waddling next to him. He smiled at the orange fellow and opened his mouth to speak, but this time, it was Davis who interrupted him.

The mahogany-haired boy grunted and leaned forward, leaning on one knee as he stared eye-to-eye with Agumon. In a voice firm and unforgiving, he said, "Agumon, do you know if Veemon's alright?"

Agumon blinked up at Davis. His eyes glazed over a bit, as they typically did when the digimon had some bad news to divulge. Kari looked up, curious to ask about her own partner, but Agumon could only tear his gaze away from Davis's to stare at his feet. However, Davis pulled away before the dinosaur could speak, his Adam's apple bobbing ruthlessly as his trouble of swallowing became apparent. Tai innerly-winced, about to reach forward and grip the kid's shoulder, before Agumon lightly smiled and tapped Davis's knee with his beige claw.

"He's alive – and so is Gatomon," Agumon told Davis, then nodded toward Kari. Davis's eyes lit up at the mere two words, then flickered in Tai's direction before fleeting back to Agumon. "They're really badly injured, kind of almost dead, but the Docmon says they'll survive. We didn't think either of 'em would make it, but... Veemon said he really wanted to see you, and he wouldn't go until he did."

"So running off to save Kari pretty much saved his life." Davis, Tai thought, had to grin at the irony. "Right?"

Agumon gave a fitful nod. If Davis hadn't left, Veemon wouldn't have had to wait such a long time, and by waiting so long, they were able to give him proper treatment. In a way, while Tai felt bad that Veemon was so injured, he was also glad that Veemon was so stubborn. If it weren't for that, he would've been a real goner—luckily, he was now getting better in the hospital, side-by-side Gatomon and TK. Well, not necessarily in the same room, but Tai heard rumors that their rooms were in close contact of each other.

He'd also heard rumors of a darker beast visiting the hospital, a beast who got past the roars and trembles of the thunder, who got past the impenetrable barrier set up by Cody and his grandfather. The beast had torn and splintered a window with a single swing, sending chills down the spine of any who heard the glass chink and pop. The room the beast crawled into remained silent from that point on, the kind of silence that lingers and chills, yet by the time the Docmon checked on the patient, there was no blood, no body, no nothin', as if the beast hadn't come to rage havoc and pain. There was just the patient resting blissfully, and his faithful partner sleeping by his side.

Whoever or whatever the beast was, Tai hoped dearly that it hadn't visited one of his hospitalized friends...

"Well, I knew you'd have to come home sooner or later," said a voice behind them. Tai, Kari, Davis, and Agumon all jumped in surprise before turning toward a weary young woman with reddish-brown strands of hair, each leathery morsel falling around her face in scraggly fashion. It was evident she'd fought long and hard, to the point where Tai hardly recognized her anymore. She gave a wide grin, eyes flashing happily as she stared at the Destined. A small rookie digimon emerged from behind her, its red body flashing as yellow fur rippled across dry fiery skin. She glanced toward her digimon partner, Coronamon, then looked back to her baby brother. "Welcome back, bro." She nodded at Kari. "Kari." Turned back to Davis. "I missed ya, eh?"

"J—Jun!" Davis lunged forward, wrapping his arms around his older sister. She giggled, hugging him tightly back despite the fact that he smelled strongly of rust, copper, and ocean salt (but, then again, there was the worn out stench of smoke and metal following her wherever _she_ went, herself). Her mischievous grin melted into cosmic warmth, her fingers briefly brushing against the back of his head before she nodded toward Kari, who blushed and nodded back.

"So it was scary enough to make you hug your big sis. That sucks for you, boyo."

Davis yanked himself away and half-heartedly glared at her. However, seeing her smile, he stopped, pulling himself away. He sighed, heatedly burrowing his hands into his pockets before turning from her to instead view Kari. Just as he was walking away from his sister, he tossed one final look in her direction (a half-grin, half-frown) and said, "Jun, what Kari and I saw – that wasn't 'scary'. It was more than that, it was _Something_, capital S, and it was hungry. Wasn't scary, it was horrifying – and it's coming for all of us next time. Six months. That's all we have until it comes back to finish what it began."

Tai watched as the new generation's leader pointed his expression toward the sky. The clouds had mostly cleared by then, but there were always a few stragglers who wandered past, their pits darkening to an ominous gray. It wasn't going to rain, but in the end, it left its imprint in all their hearts. There was a lot of feeling that single glance toward the sky conveyed; Davis's wonder, Davis's joy, Davis's fear. Tai felt the overriding jolt of curiosity, which melded with his protectiveness over his sister, causing him to move toward her side and wrap one arm around her shoulders. Davis frowned, mirth faded to granite grit.

The sun could shine all it wanted to, but the storm wasn't over yet.

"We'll be ready for It next time. Next time..." He grinned. "We'll take on _Them_, and next time, _this_ time, we will _win_."

.---.

"KARI, YOU _**DUMBASS**_!"

OOMPH.

Kari's muscles bunched up as Yolei flattened her across the broken-up pavement. The girl's head nearly hit concrete, but she caught herself just in time to stop the hard impact—and even so, getting such a big hug from Yolei was well-worth the pain of a sore tailbone and a possible head injury (well, maybe not quite, but it felt nice to be hugged by Yolei after such a terrifying experience; she didn't think she would see her best gal pal again, it was such a relief to see Yolei's enthusiasm of her being fine).

"Really, Yolei, it's okay," Kari said with an exasperated, semi-strained smile. "We made it out perfectly."

"AND YOU." Yolei rounded on Davis, who snapped to attention, his back straightening like a backboard as he watched the colossal Fury, with purple hair that shot around her like sniping snakes and with a pair of glasses that glinted eerily in the waning noonlight. "YOU DID NOT RETURN SOONER. Jeez, I can't rely on you for anything! Here I am, worrying sick about you two, and what, did you want to stop and smell the daisies? What the heck took so long?!"

"Um, we died?" Davis raised an eyebrow, but Yolei merely threw her head back in a fit of unbelieving laughter. Kari wanted to tell Yolei it was true, but Davis beat her to the punch. "Uh, really. We died. And got brought back to life. And something weird happened to our souls I think? I don't know, it was kind of unclear."

"I know _I_ feel different," Kari noted, bringing a hand to her chest. She smiled at Davis, who looked back at her with a bright glint to his eyes. "Like I'm not carrying only myself anymore, but there's someone else, someone else who I'm carrying with me, too. Physically... mentally... emotionally... It's exciting, and horrifying."

Davis reached forward, resting a hand on her shoulder. Yolei watched them and raised an eyebrow, leaning to examine his display of affection – a hand to the shoulder? Hmm. Kari leaned into it just a bit, her head tilted toward his body, her knees bending slightly as she placed just the slightest bit of her body weight against his own. Immediately, Yolei reddened.

"Oh em GEE." She raised her arms to the sky and took maybe a few thousand steps back. "WEIRD."

Both Kari and Davis blinked at her, then at each other. Yolei fought the urge to move back toward them and to maybe poke Davis, just to make sure he was really _Davis_, not someone else—someone who actually had a chance! Huh. She folded her arms and opened her mouth to speak, only for a certain dark blue-haired mystery man to come into her range of sight.

_Ken..._ She watched him, a smile pending her face before she looked away. The man waltzed in Davis's direction, his hand extending to shake the goggle boy's own before Davis blinked up and looked at his dirt-smeared face. Immediately, Davis chuckled and slapped his palm against Ken's, his voice booming in thick richness.

"Ken, buddy! You look like shit!" As Davis shook hands with Ken, Ken softly laughed, one of his hands wiping away his face before tilting his head to the side.

"I could say the same for you," Ken snorted with his impervious twisted grin.

Davis didn't respond. Instead, he pulled Ken toward him in a strong embrace, both young men giving hugs before moving away and laughing just a wee bit more. The group was all together – or, at least, almost all together.

Yolei watched Kari's gaze flicker to the nearby hospital.

"Hey, Yolei," she began, as Ken and Davis talked in the background. Hawkmon and Wormmon looked up at the girl, whose brow crinkled in concern. "Are Gatomon and TK in there?"

"Yep, and so is Cody," she replied. "He's saying his farewells to his grandfather, who passed away during the fight."

Kari bowed her head, her hands fisting before she smiled sadly. Yolei didn't know what to say beyond that, other than to reach forward and rest her hand on Kari's head. Like an older sister does to her annoying but fragile little sib, Yolei mussed her hair and gave her best toothy expression.

"I was just about to go visit TK, myself. Do you mind?"

"No, not at all," said Kari, who looked up at Yolei as her eyes glazed over. She smiled sadly, her hands rubbing against her upper-arms in the greatest heat of their wanning day. The brown-haired girl turned toward the hospital, ready for whatever she'd find there, even if it was death, even if it was sickness, even if it was fate. She nodded triumphantly, ready for anything. "I'd prefer to have you with me. I know that Gatomon and TK will probably be alright, but... I can't face them alone... I can't—"

"You're never alone," Yolei interrupted. Wrapping one of her arms around Kari and guiding her closer to the hospital, she continued, "And you'll learn that lesson, sooner or later. Now let's hurry up, before visiting hours are over. It's very crowded right now, after all."

With a sniffle, Kari nodded, despite her reluctance. It'd been a hard day for all of them; their bodies and minds had taken their toll, and now they had to deal with the consequences. Yolei knew it would never be the same, but even so, she wasn't afraid – just very, very excited, for the old, for the new, for the adventure lied out in front of them. Bad things happened everyday, no large number of Destined could stop that. But, if they tried, if they never stopped trying, perhaps they could save what little of their world was left in the tired hearts of humans and digimon everywhere.

TK... Gatomon... Grandpa Chiaki... Be they the dead or be they the living, be they the injured or be they the healthy, be they the broken or be they the unshatterable—

Yolei would never let herself be weak.  
Never again, she told herself.  
Never, ever again.

Next time, she would fight destiny.  
Beat the hell outta destiny!

Yolei would protect them all, even if it meant death, bloody knuckles, or indescribable pain.

She was _done_ being selfish.

-----------

**Author's Note:** Hey, everyone! Sorry I haven't responded to your reviews/e-mails yet. I appreciate each one I've gotten, and I've read some brilliant insight and comments. I'm excited to get back to them, which I'm hoping to do so soon. I've been a bit slow lately due to prom, but luckily the stress is almost over. Expect the last two epilogues to be posted soon, and thank you for the wait!


	9. Epilogue III: Dreamless Dreaming

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "Inner Universe" by Origa and Yoko Kanno, and "Kryptonite" by 3 Doors Down.

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Angels and demon circle above my head  
cleaving through thorns and Milky Ways  
He who does not perceive his calling,  
does not know true happiness."  
—_Inner Universe_ by Origa and Yoko Kanno

**Prologue's Epilogue Part III  
**_...Dreamless Dreaming..._

"K—Ken—"

Her voice was almost distant.

He was breathing shallowly; sharply.

Blood spattered across his front.

"Don't, Ken! Please, stop!"

He didn't stop.

He kept going.

His right arm thrust to the left, blade tore into skin, sliced flesh, specks of red tinted off-white shirt, made it colorful, made it patterned, made it new. His lips bent into a wide, thin smirk, each tainted lip a curled sneer of indecipherable despicable joy.

_**SPLT**_

"I can't... Ken... I..."

Another slice.

She screamed.

"KEN."

But she was gone now. Gone, gone, gone, and he'd _made_ her gone. Her violet hair was splayed around her corpse-white face, her chest moving rapidly up and down as sickle peeled skin and splattered bone. The crack of body-snaps ricocheted across his psyche, but Ken didn't care, Ken just laughed, and laughed, and _cried_.

The rising and falling of her chest – the swift thrust of her diaphragm – slowed.

"K... Ken..."

"ENOUGH," he roared.

_**SPLLLSSSHHHHH**_ – volcanic shades of blood sent jetstreams down his arms. His hands were bathed in it, in thick liquid red, red that seeped into cloth and covered his skin. At that particular time, it curdled and prickled, tearing into his own flesh, scarring them with fiery heat.

Her chest stopped moving. Her glasses fell from her face, right lens cracking as the black round frames hit the damp soil.

Ken heaved, then turned nearby to peer upon the woman's friend, who was sweaty with pale fear. At one time, the friend was Ken's friend, as well – in fact, the friend was Ken's _best_ friend, and at one time, the friend was Ken's only friend. Now he would become nothing but a memory to play with in Ken's bejeweled, purple-gloved hands.

"What are you doing, Ken?" the friend had said. His hair was a bleak mahogany brunette, decorated by a pair of gleaming goggles strapped around his neck as he watched Ken's wavering gaze. Ken's lips peeled back into that same menacing grin.

_**SPLT**_

A ripple of fear gripped Ken, like he wanted to tell himself to stop, but he couldn't stop – he could no longer stop, not now, not ever.

_**CRACK**_

Ken's elbow met the goggle-boy's chest.

Blade met gut.

Goggle boy met ground.

Brown eyes met the Reaper.

As the goggle boy's blood covered the ground in wide puddles of unearthly sticky blood, red seeped into the sky. Clouds turned to a rumbling angry black, the sun trickled into a miry green, and the aether ripped in half as bolts of electricity twisted around Ken's skeletal fingers. The electricity sparked in his eye's reflection, but he didn't care. He only laughed.

The sky was blood red.

The clouds roared furiously.

The ground shuddered beneath his feet.

And, with a shrill twisted shout that twined cries and hysterical laughter, Ken turned to his right. A half-oval stone rose above the rotted grass, a gray statue hanging over the circulette as its hands pressed together and its faced pointed toward the sky. A pair of stony, feathery wings splayed from its back, displaying the withered angel that watched over the dead. Ken stared at the jade angel of death before turning his attention to the half-oval—a tombstone—entitled,

SAM ICHIJOUJI  
1986—1997  
R.I.P.  
BELOVED SON AND LOVING BROTHER

Ken's lips wanned.

In that moment, his grip on the blade seemed brittle, mesmerized, unchanged as if the hands themselves could think, could move, could _feel_; all the while, _he_ was unchanged; unwilling; tired and hungry and lusting, lusting for something _else_, hungry but not for food, tired but dreaming a forever dwelling nightmare.

Ken watched his brother's tombstone, marred by the blood of a dead Yolei Inoue and a murdered Davis Motomiya.

Even before them, he'd taken the lives of the other Destined, one-by-one, second after second. Wormmon was no where to be seen, no where to be heard, no where to be recognized. That made sense, didn't it? After all, Wormmon was Ken's conscience in a way, his own personal Jiminy Cricket to watch him and guide him and stop him from making the wrong choice.

Just like Sam at one time.

Ken watched the tombstone, glinting in the red sunstreams.

Then, rising a shaking, frightened arm, he gritted his teeth and shrilly _screamed_, plunging the blade right into the center of the tombstone. It cracked open like a skull, splitting with cobweb slices that plundered to the bottom of his feet as rubble sucked into a vacuum of curling smoke. Ken was panting, staring crazily at the broken tombstone, his pupils a tiny speck in each eye before he raised his arm once more and tore his blade into the angel. He dismembered each of the stone statue's detailed appendages, ending swiftly with a kick to the head that sent the statue breaking into nothingness.

"You're _nothing,_" Ken half-heaved half-howled, watching as both tombstone and angel tumbled to their fate. "You think you're better than me?! You think you're smarter?! Bullshit! BULLSHIT. You're just bone and maggot, NOTHING ELSE."

He watched the ascending smoke, stirring from the pile of rubble. Hot wind pressed against his drenched back, pulling lightly at his wet shirt, before he turned to view a piece of the tombstone that hadn't yet fallen. It stood strongly toward the foundation, the surface as shiny as waxed floors that reflected his face within their depths.

He saw his own bulging eyes.

His clenched teeth.

His animalistic, wrinkled glare.

"Screw you," he told his reflection.

Oddly enough, his breath caught in his throat as his reflection returned his glare with instead a smug grin, showing gleaming fangs and bloodstained mirth. The reflection—without Ken, all on its own, almost as if sentient—opened its lips, softly laughed, and pointed toward the bodies of Yolei and Davis.

_You only have yourself to blame,_ the reflection chided. _The Dark Half never sleeps, Ken. Never sleeps._

"UGH."

Ken smashed the sickle right into the center of the reflection's face. It bobbled backwards, wincing, crying out as the jade surface splintered before – with another kick – it shot backwards in dozens of tiny sparkshots. The reflection shattered and beaten, Ken sunk the sickle tip into the soil and howled with rage.

----

He wouldn't wait.

Ken moved toward Odaiba. He sat upon the black rooftop of a sideway citadel (sideway? When were buildings sideways? Odd geometry, all buildings shaped at oddly angular ways, all either circular or triangular, different and unparallel – Ken was amazed. Under normal circumstances, they would crumble like toy legos). His knees bent, allowing for his muscles to bulge, for his shins to pressure, for his breath to fill his lungs as he held out his palm toward his beautiful city. For many years of his life, Odaiba meant nothing to him. He'd grown up in the neighboring city Tamachi, never taking a second glance at Odaiba, not until those damn Destined took him and made him one of them. Now Odaiba seemed more like his home than a home could ever feel.

It was a home he was going to destroy.

The sweet sound of wind and children's laughter, the bristling scent of honeysuckle and spring, the buckling sight of a ferriswheel that spun and twirled and glowed – it all didn't _just_ fade. In a second, the roads ripped beneath Ken's feet, the citadel shook wildly to the point of almost throwing him off, the laughter halted, the honeysuckle withered, the ferriswheel popped and screeched to a stall.

They didn't just fade.

In that instant, as Ken held his palm to the dying Odaiba, the city _fragmented_!

Cumulus dripped from the sky and wrapped around the spring wind, grappling with tumbling buildings. Blackened holes ripped upward into the air, the roads and hospitals and even in the hearts of people. Man and mon ran screaming, flooding into the streets as fire burst around them and wrapped around their tiny lives like serpentine guillotines. Flowers and trees curdled like spoiled milk, flesh grew into sandpaper then into friable flakes that fluttered into the toxic air.

Like beings crushed beneath the palm of God, monolith crests and jutted architecture chinked into millions of thin sharp pieces. Debris and ashes spewed from the fallen giants, spreading throughout the city in waves of gray clouds that choked the throat and teared the eyes.

From the cracked roads rose venomous shadows, each cooing a different sin. Some whispered of pride, some of wrath, some of lust and sloth and gluttony and envy. One particular shadow – beard swinging from its blackened breath, each exhale an oozing cloud of acidic wind – curled around Ken's neck, body twining around his waist and pulling at one of his legs. Ken didn't waver, he only listened to it, listened to its bleeding words of Glorious Greed.

_Yum yum,_ the shadow wheezed. _You can't run away from me, Ken. I've got you, I've always had you._

The shadow was consuming him.

Bit by bit.

He remembered Yolei.

_I'll catch you wherever you run._

He remembered Davis.

_Never forget who you really are, Ken._

He remembered himself.

_I'm waiting for your return._

And, as Ken watched his city burn, he exploded into a fiery blast of molten fire and buckling ash.

.---.

Ken bolted awake, holding his chest as he heaved and hacked and coughed. Night swept in from his bedroom window, displaying its valiant silver moonlight. It felt nice, to wake up and feel the moon's comforting light. He stared out the double pane glass, wondering what he'd done, what he'd dreamed.

But was it a dream – a nightmare?

Or was it bigger, an omen?

A prophecy of what was to come?

Was it by his hands that Odaiba would fall, or would it be by the hands of someone else?

Was it he who slain the Destined?

Or did he only see things from the eyes of someone else?

_No, _Ken thought, reaching behind him to touch the sore spot on the back of his neck. He winced, feeling the sting of where the Dark Spore still resided within him. Years ago, he'd made a promise to never give up on his dreams. To this day, he never had, but that didn't stop the Dark Spore from hurting him when he woke up. He bit down on his lip, teeth clenched into a snarl as his fingernails dug into the back of his neck.

_I destroyed Sam's tombstone. The Dark Spore hurts._ He glared at his satin bedsheets. _Sam..._ His hands clenched into fists before unclenching, his gaze staring into the pits of his palms as he traced every line of Sam's face within his memory, every expression the boy ever gave, every smile Sam ever bore. When he didn't want to see Sam's face anymore, he tightened his eyes shut, yet Sam's face remained even in the darkness behind his eyelids, inescapable.

_Oh, Sam..._ He barreled over bedsheets and boredom, allowing his hand to reach over one of his shelves and to pick up a gold-framed picture of both himself and his late brother huddled over their apartment balcony, elbows resting against the strong railing that hung over the nook of their apartment. The two younger boys were toothily grinning into the camera, unknowing of their fates. Ken smiled sadly at the picture as his hand began to tremble. _When he died, he was about as old as I was when my adventures began in the Digital World... I wanted to change things so badly, to become something, to grow better than him; than he was at 11-years-old. I wanted to continue his journey, and because his odyssey ended at age 11, I made sure that mine began at age 11._

His smile turned bitter.

_I was such an idiot._

It was odd.

No matter how hard Ken tried to scab over old wounds, right when he was on the brink of making things right, each old scar reopened, left bloody and open and festering for the world to see. It sometimes made him wonder if he should even allow the emotional wound to scab, to temporarily heal, to try to make sure it semi-numbed. Some people said the pain would become easier in time, others said it would never become easier, that the pain would never cease nor grow weaker despite whatever he did or whatever he said. The pain Sam's memory carried within Ken's psyche was a rumbling storm cloud, hovering over his life, stifling sunlight and threatening wind and tornado to tear and rip and wet every sector of kindness and love and light in his short life.

_I will never be able to forget Sam's death,_ Ken thought, his fingertips softly brushing over Sam's face of the picture in his hand. _But I can hope that it'll only make me stronger, readier for what is ahead. That if I can face the death of my most precious one, I can face anything in the world, and I can _**beat**_ anything in the world. I wasn't able to stop Sam from dying, but if I try, if I reach out, then I will defy death and save the ones who are precious to me now. If I can survive this, I can survive anything, even the destruction of Odaiba._

The nightmare's memory hung in the air like poisonous smog, sucking into his mind and causing a half-wince half-glare. His nails dug into the pictureframe, gaze deepening as anger tugged at his chest. His body heated slightly, his head heavy with hot fury.

_I refuse to mar Sam's memory anymore than I did when I was the Emperor,_ he told himself; it was something he told himself a lot, something he _had_ to remind himself of, otherwise the Dark Spore would consume him whole once more. He had to believe in his dreams. That was the most important part of his life, because the second he let go of them, the Emperor would take over him again and again and again. The greedy shadow seemed to whisper to him again, seething about taking over his body, that Ken belonged to the greedy shadow, that Ken was _mine, mine, MINE_. Ken threw the picture against the wall, resounding a startling _**CRACK**_ that pounced against each corner of his bedroom.

_I won't destroy Odaiba,_ his inner-voice hissed, _NEVER._

.---.

Kari didn't know if she was awake or in a dream.

She wandered down a seemingly endless hallway toward a white light, the surrounding beige walls gushing woozily like bits of melted cheese. She tried to walk past puddles of yellowish-white ooze, but every time she stepped, it crawled closer to her. A blunt ache dulled her head, her body felt like ice, she didn't know whether to walk backward or continue toward the light.

Each step brought an alarming zing to her chest, pulsing past her wrists and ringing faintly in her ears. What was the alarm? Fear? Excitement? Wonder?

_**Ker-plunk**_

Her boots sunk heavily into the woozy ooze.

Lit torches flickering with blue fire lit her way toward the light. Each torch illuminated the walls, the columns, the fancy décor that surrounded each area with graphic paintings of naked nymphs and some of more gruesome creatures. One picture in particular caught her attention, illustrated with a broad-chested man at the center. He was draped in yellow attire, a crown pointed atop his head as it glinted against the dull light. He was surrounded by red and a mysterious black, one foot cast upon a stone as his arms buckled over his torso.

A King in Yellow, Kari thought.

As the name scrolled across her mind, she neared the light. A step forward meant a voice grew louder; each voice was a voice she didn't recognize, yet they echoed soundlessly throughout her psyche, pounding deeper and deeper as she walked. Soon she realized the voices were singing a muffled melody, something that reminded her of Churches or Synagogues.

_In His house,_ the chanters lulled, _dead C'thulhu awaits dreaming._

C'thulhu—there that name was again.

Kari's brow wrinkled, yet she continued her journey further down the hallway.

She was then distracted by another portrait, this time of a creature so horrendous she hadn't a clue how to describe It. The creature wore a tall, half-triangular half-square hat that was reminiscent of a semi-tophat semi-Bishop hat. It popped outward, combined with a half-clothed man that stared endlessly toward nothing in particular. Perhaps it was a High Priest of some sort; a High Priest Not To Be Described.

_The dreamless dreamer awaits for you,_ the chanters sung.

Dreamless Dreamer...

The name sent chills down her spine. It was an odd oxymoron, one she should've giggled at, yet no laughter escaped her. She could only stare ahead, her body immobile—paralyzed—unable to even comprehend moving. It sent her muscles aflutter, her bones trembling, her heart breakneck beating.

She groaned, her hands shooting upward to clutch her temples as the chanting grew louder.

_In His House dead C'thulhu awaits dreaming._

Her knees wouldn't bend.

_The dreamless dreamer awaits for you._

Her feet wouldn't touch ground.

_IN HIS HOUSE DEAD C'THULHU AWAITS DREAMING._

The chanting was ruckus enough to hurt her ears, drums pinging with insatiable volume.

_THE DREAMLESS DREAMER AWAITS FOR YOU._

"Leave me alone..." she hissed between clenched teeth. This was ridiculous. She didn't want to be here, she didn't want to hear this, she didn't want to see any of these pictures or hallways or lights. She just wanted to go home, to _be_ home, to get the hell away from the King in Yellow and the High Priest Not To Be Described. She was sick and tired of being targeted by shadow-obsessed freaks and that included those intending to play with her dreams.

Couldn't she get at least _some_ peace of mind, or did she have to fight for it? Because Kari was sick of fighting. So _sick_ of falling and falling and falling and having to _dig_ herself back up, to _pick_ herself back up, so she was so damn tired of _having_ to pull herself back from the hole she'd fallen into. She was sick of falling, period.

She was sick. Tired. And disgusted. Sometimes, she was sick of bearing light. Just sometimes, but those "sometimes" echoed so loudly in her mind that it would cause her to shake, cause her to look up at the sky, cause her to question who she was and what she represented, why Fate decided to so joyously call _her_ to Light's destiny.

But in the end, Kari always knew why she bore light.

She was the only one who could wear it, who could bear it, who could take what the forces of darkness dished out and to _still _stand smiling in the end. She had friends to hold her hands, she had family to hug her tears away, a loving partner to fight away the prevailing evil. Kari had the strength – the courage and friendship and _miracles_ – to pull through what was faced against her. It wasn't only her own personal strength that gave her the ability – the right – to bear light, but the people who were included in that personal strength, the people who made it worth it.

That was why, when the chanters grew bigger than she was, when darkness ate away the surrounding walls, when the light dimmed in the distance, Kari opened her eyes. She released her temples. She stared determinedly into what little light remained, and smiled.

Shadows consumed the King in Yellow's portrait.

They tinkered with the High Priest Not To be Described.

And, as C'thulhu's name resounded all around her, as the Dreamless Dreamer slept awaiting her return to the Dark Ocean's murky depths, Kari stepped forward with all her might _into_ the light, where she stood triumphantly in a room where nothing but herself could touch her. It was a part of her inner-psyche that infiltrated every pore, every shard of memory, every piece of emotion buried deep with her mind's sanctum.

Here, she thought she would be safe from the darkness. Here, the chanters shrunk to silence. Here, she was the dreamless dreamer, not C'thulhu, not anyone but herself, someone who dreams but waits awake within an unconscious world all her own. She had dominion here, no one else.

That was true, at least, until now.

As light spread across her and tipped into her flesh, cornered her eyes, ruffled her hair, she could see another figure in the near distance. She smiled humbly; she'd met more than one figure in her inner-sanctum. Usually they were parts of her soul, like Light or Love or Sorrow, and in her sleep, Kari would sometimes console them. Perhaps it was just one of her abilities as the Wielder of Light, or maybe it was something she always had the power to do, but when she saw the waiting figure, she had no idea the tremulous power that single half of her soul held.

"Hello?" she asked. She stepped toward the shapely woman, who was staring off into the distance. Kari could only see her back, though she was at a distance where she couldn't quite tell what the woman's hair color was. Dark? Deep red? She wore a yellow glossy gown, which splayed around her feet in black furbelows and bows. "Are you—the mercury-haired woman?"

Kari could remember less than 24 hours ago, when she'd encountered the woman in the scarlet light. The woman had a queer smile and deep, mulatto skin; her hair was a peculiar shade of red, not quite blood nor rich nor garnet, but shifty, like the ripples of molten lava in a volcano. The only way she could've described the woman in the scarlet light was a woman with mercury-red hair, hair of Mars.

However, while the mercury-haired woman's presence was somewhat ominous in a tragic way, this other woman in her dreams, this woman dressed in yellow held a different air. There was something about her that rung untrue, that sent tremors down Kari's skin and jolted her very core.

When she tried to step toward the woman, instead she found herself unable to move.

She was too busy trembling to move.

_My legs..._ She frowned. _They won't walk._

**thhhhhh**

Kari's head bolted upward as the woman in yellow shifted. Her high-heeled foot stirred to the left, flouncing over the fringe of her black and yellow frills. Kari's heart pounded against her ribcage, hitting it so hard her chest hurt.

**You thought you were safe here?**

The woman in yellow... her head was turning... her neck craning, flesh wrinkling as collarbone cracked...

**There is the light that illuminates...**

Kari could see a part of the woman's cheek now. The skin was somehow discolored, turning to a placid hue that was reminiscent of carcass-Cupid red.

**The light that obscures...**

The woman's arms were a sallow yellow, some parts of it a bruised purple or blue, while other parts bathed in liquid red. Spiderweb stitches extended and melded within skin, crisscrossing and fusing together bits of flesh that Kari wondered if belonged to someone else. The woman in yellow's face had almost completely turned to Kari now.

**Which light are you, Kari Kamiya?**

And then Kari saw her.

**Which light am I?**

The woman in yellow's eyes and lips were sewn shut by thick black threads that pulsated golden and green malignant energy. Her nails were connected to her fingers only by the knitted thin needles pinned into her cuticles, lancing through the hard shell of her 'tips. Her forehead was a different shade than her cheeks, which were a pallor shade than her nose, which was a darker shade than her chin and blue-hued lips. She was a Frankenstein-manifested monster of different pasts, of different Karis, of different things both dead and living and horrifying.

Kari sucked in a breath that screamed to get out of her, that _pushed_ to throttle out from her throat as the monster slumped forward, palms and fingertips digging into the carpeted floor of the white-light room. Her torso pressured against the bottom, belly slithering across it as her knees popped backwards so her feet pushed into the ground.

The woman in yellow had bones that crackled and bent, sending chills of hard _**snnnnnap!**_s and _**crk!**_s throughout the room. Kari still couldn't move. There was more to the woman, more to her body, but Kari's mind wouldn't process it. It was as if the woman herself was something no human should see, no human mind could comprehend, a pending force that catapulted itself into a world that couldn't understand It because It was so different, so cosmic, so colossal that humanity would either die or turn to insanity upon seeing Its crippling shape.

**The Unspeakable One comes to eat, Kari.  
Comes to CONSUME.**

All things silenced, then, as the Woman in Yellow wrapped around Kari's body. It blanketed her, swallowing every inch, devouring every voice, halting every chant. It draped across her in all Its black and golden fury, expressionless stitched face seething with enigmatic energy that no one but the Gods could understand.

And Kari, body prickling with nothing but numbness, could not even scream.

.---.

Kari did scream, though.

"Kari...?"

She screamed when a hand gently clutched her shoulder and shook her, she screamed as her fingernails attacked the air and clawed at the hand, as she woke up tangled in her hair that flew outward as she ripped the breeze in half and barreled toward the man who had awakened her. Her voice was shrill and hoarse, words jumbled and spoken so fast that not even she understood, not until her lungs burst with tired breath that heaved out of her as the man grabbed her wrists in order to stop her from tearing him apart.

"SHE'S NOT HER," she bellowed. "SHE'S NOT THE MERCURY-HAIRED WOMAN, DAMMIT." She struggled against the man. "I CAN'T FIGHT. I—" Her knees shook. "SHE'S... She's... too... she's too powerful."

A power so great, so mammoth, so godlike, that her mere presence was enough to stop Kari right in her tracks. It was enough to bound her to nothingness, to weaken her muscles yet allow her to keep standing, to twist her mind and her body and her soul, a mere presence that even Kari could not stand.

It was a power inside her, waiting, watching, lusting to be released from its light-glaring prison.

"I... I'm..." Her knees hit dull-blue tile, forcing the man to a crouch as he clutched her wrists. "I'm still too weak, still too powerless, still not good enough."

"Kari, that's not true," said another voice, this one behind her, not the man who lightly held her.

Her eyes widened, then.

That voice—she knew that voice, knew it very well.

It seemed jarring, in fact, that she realized right at that second that she was still in the hospital. She was surrounded by the tacky striped wallpaper that lined the top of TK's hospital room, of walls mostly white and a room circular all but for the bathroom connected to its bottom right. The air was stale and smelled strongly of antiseptic, while nearby the soft bleep of a heart monitor echoed dully in the back of her mind.

That's right.

She'd fallen asleep, hadn't she? While waiting for TK to wake up? Just hours ago, she'd watched Matt cry at his bedside, Sora hugging him to her chest. She'd scooted up a chair and sat next to him, lightly clasping his hand in her own as she soon grew too tired to stay awake and instead fell asleep at his bedside. Later, she remembered half-waking up and seeing Davis and Tai also there, and Davis had found a soft blanket to wrap around her shoulders as she turned her face the other way and fell back asleep. Patamon was also in the room, but he had fallen asleep even before herself, right atop TK's chest as the top of his head lightly bobbed against TK's chin.

In front of her was Matt, who stared into her eyes with a concerned narrow of his own baby blues. Blond hair flickered across his face before he let go of her and pulled back the restless strands, his gaze wavering toward TK before moving back to Kari, who was panting in front of him, pale with sweat and eyes bulging with fear.

Matt smiled wryly, a hand resting on her shoulder as he opened his mouth to ask if she was okay. However, she only managed to shake her head, her muscles sore and stiff. The woman in yellow – no, the _Unspeakable One_ – still flashed across Kari's mind, her face, her – _Its_ – body as it wrapped around her, entwining with her, tying together as if One.

Kari shuddered.

However, she was forced to shake her head and briskly massage her temples in order to get over the complete shock of going from just a realistic nightmare to reality itself.

_I'm fine,_ she told herself, even if her heart said differently. She just lifted herself up, peered up at Matt, and, making sure she cleared away the wave of sudden danger clutching her body, she then nodded. Matt smiled wryly at her. Out of anyone, he, Sora, Joe, Ken, Yolei, Gabumon, Biyomon, Wormmon, Hawkmon, and Gomamon would know the powers of darkness best. After all, all of them were consumed by darkness at one point in their lives.

Kari was taken by the Dark Ocean (not to mention, as the Crest Wielder of Light, she was darkness's natural opponent); Sora was consumed by a Dark Cave that only Biyomon, Matt, and Joe could get her out of; Joe and Gomamon had witnessed the shadows that plague one's heart whilst surrounded by nothing but the claustrophobic weight of the Dark Cave; Yolei and Hawkmon, like Joe and Gomamon, had witnessed Ken and Kari's re-descent into the Dark Ocean, whereupon even she could feel (if not barely) the crushing waves of R'lyeh; Ken had been surrounded by shadows for so long, it had taken hold of his body and mind, suppressing all notions of kindness or tenderness to the point where not even Wormmon could reach him without the power of a sacrifice and the warmth of the Chosen; and Matt had been swallowed by a darkness so deep, even Gabumon struggled to dig him out from the pits of his own sorrows.

And now, it was time to face someone who had never been taken by darkness, but had been _robbed_ by darkness. He had been robbed of great friends, great alliances. He had lost one of his most precious people, and had gone into the thick of the storm to save his best friend. Behind her, Kari could feel the weight of _his _gaze– not Matt's, not Davis's, not Tai's nor Gatomon's nor Patamon's – boring into her back as he lied groggily in his bed, waiting for her to turn around and see him for the first time since his departure from the conscious world.

She remembered right before she ran off into the woods, followed by a torn-up and feverish Davis. It was before she'd cried in the rain, before Davis gained the courage to step beyond the Trojan barriers between them, before a rotted and dead world took her from Earth – from her home – and tried to make her a part of its own decayed reality.

She remembered, yes, when he had tried to stop her from entering the Dark Ocean, and was instead impaled by a long clawed arm that thrust through flesh and pegged through bone. She remembered the _**CRACK**_, she remembered the sound of clots of liquid paving the concrete harder than the rain, she remembered his twisted expression, and most of all, she remembered the laugh of Devimon, who stood crouched over the boy she had always cared for the moment destiny entwined them.

"TK," she murmured, dark bags forming beneath her bulging eyes as she stared at him. He smiled tiredly back, his skin dotted with sweat, hair flattened and sunsoaked from the window nearby. Though he was quite evidently wiped out, there was a glisten in his eye, a glimmer that spoke of life and vigor and excitement. Happiness.

"Hey there, Kamiya," he said. "Good morning. Or would that be good afternoon?"

"Oh, TK!" Tears welled in her eyes as she rushed forward. She threw her arms out before wrapping them around him, her voice choking as she sobbed and embraced him as tightly as she could, her shoulders shaking as she continued to hold and half-laugh half-weep. "I was so scared... I mean, I knew you would wake up, and I—I had _hope_ that you would—but... I..."

"Hey, hey, it's okay now," he said, lightly rubbing her back as she continued crying. She pulled back slightly, looking into his bright smile as he nodded toward Patamon, who smiled back just as brightly. "I had a guardian angel to watch over me, after all. He told me all about it while you were asleep."

"Why didn't you wake me up?" Kari said softly, still choked up as she tilted her head to the side, worry clutching her as all thoughts toward the Unspeakable One, C'thulhu, the King in Yellow, and the High Priest Not To Be Named melted away into nothingness. She wanted to be awake for TK's awakening, after all, and there was a part of herself that was angry that she wasn't able to see it, though she was also grateful for the much-needed (if not very disturbing) nap.

TK's smile seeped into a grin. "You looked tired. Besides, I had a lot to take care of, and I knew I'd be spending the day with you when you woke up."

Okay, Kari had to lightly laugh at that. It was true. When someone she cared about got hurt, Kari tended to go into concerned mother mode, something she learned from Yolei.

"So... what else did you have to take care of?" she asked.

TK went from nodding toward Matt to glancing at a nearby shadow. Kari followed his eyes to the corner, where a bit of darkness oddly shuffled, hovered, before a pair of glowing red eyes flickered from within the shadow's depths.

The stirring darkness was then revealed to be an arm that waved out from the darkness at Kari, as if greeting her. The leathery face of Devimon tore from the shadow's remnants to peer into the fearful depths of Kari's innocent doe brown eyes.

"Morning there, gorgeous," the diablo breathed, raspy and deep. "Sick with fear, are we?"

Kari's expression twisted into a snarl. Gatomon was due to come out of the hospital later that day, if only she was out now – both girl and mon would take down that black phantom in a second. How dare he waltz in TK's hospital room and act as if nothing was wrong? This was the evil digimon who took Angemon's life, who almost took TK's!

"Quick, Matt—!" she began, only for TK's hand to lightly grasp her shoulder. She swiftly turned toward him, her brow furrowed, before he grinned and nodded toward Devimon. She then turned back to the leathery un-angel and clenched her teeth, watching as it manifested out from the dark and gave her a low bow.

TK's eyes grew eerily, amusedly bright.

"I want to be prepared in six months," TK told her. "I don't trust him in the least, but—" TK's eyes fell half-lidded, "—I _will_ stop the Endless Ones. All my life, I've hated and feared the powers of darkness, hated it for taking Patamon even if it was for a short time, I feared that it might someday take someone or something else I loved, this time forever. But I can't do that anymore. It's time I step forward and leave that behind me. I will get stronger, Kari, and I will stop the Endless Ones, whoever they may be and whatever they might bring. Hell, if I need to, I will destroy the _hand of fate_, and darkness along with it.

"Even if that means training under the digimon I hate most."


	10. Epilogue IV: The Heirloom and The Bee

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "When The Stars Go Blue" by Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Lenz

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Where do you go when you're lonely?  
Where do you go when you're blue?  
Where do you go when you're lonely?  
I'll follow you  
when the stars go blue."  
—_When The Stars Go Blue_ by Tyler Hilton and Bethany Joy Lenz

**Prologue's Epilogue Part IV  
**_...The Heirloom and The Bee..._

Three months.

On this day, they were at the halfway point toward a war that would envelop their lives whole. Whether or not this was a good thing or a bad thing, not many knew; however, _most_ knew that whatever happened would be a hell of a story to one day tell the future generations. Anything less was a laughable theory, a jest, a hope – a desire that maybe the Endless Ones weren't as threatening as Davis and Kari made them out to be.

But, in their hearts, they all knew the answer.

During the past three months, Cody and Ken took to opening a Training Center for future Chosen (sadly enough, even to this day, some people on Earth didn't have a partner; though not everyone was a Destined, most people at least had a partner, a friend, someone they could rely on—some got their partner since the day they were born, others gained partners later on in life, some even gained partners the day they died – early birds and late bloomers came together and trained under Cody Hida and Ken Ichijouji to gain strength, some of who were not even Chosen).

Cody took hold of the kendo and meditation sector of the Center, specializing in the balance of body and mind. Ken was at the head of judo and chess, even managing to train Izzy in the art of Shogi (or Japanese Chess). It took Izzy a long time to get ahold of it, but before long (especially with Gennai's own help), he was able to beat even Ken, which was quite a feat no one but Ken expected – not Izzy, who was a sucker for probability mathematics.

"Aha! Checkmate!" Izzy declared excitedly. Normally he didn't get so into board games (though computer games were a completely different animal), but this time, he crossed his arms smugly over his chest and looked proudly over the King Piece as it was swept off its black square. "That's my third in a row. You're not going soft on me, are you?"

Many of Ken's surrounding students ooo'ed and awww'ed at the two boys, much to Ken's chagrin and Izzy's pride. Nonetheless, Ken sighed and folded his own arms, wishing he wasn't surprised Izzy would reach above and beyond him.

"Nice job, Izzy," Ken said through a grin. "I wish I could say I was going soft, but I was actually trying that round."

While Ken often did not act as smart as he was as the Digital Emperor, when he desired to reach into the confinements of that knowledge, he was able to grasp it easily between his palms and hold it to his psyche. Ken was a genius without wanting to be a genius, a brain without exercise, a mathematician and an artist. All the same, both he and Izzy were on very similar grounds when it came to intellectual suits. Admittedly, even when Ken dug into his smarter persona, Izzy could still run circles around him when it came to technology and scientific pursuits. With mathematics, they were pretty even. Luckily, Ken still had history and Japanese/English in the bag, even if Joe rivaled with him in those subjects (then again, Joe rivaled with everyone for every subject – he was such an obsessive compulsive studier).

"Well, I learn fast," Izzy said with a pleasant smile. "So, I guess I have to begin judo now?"

Izzy looked a little green.

The funny thing about it was also the fact that while Izzy could run circles around Ken for technology and science, Ken could _literally_ run circles around Izzy without Izzy even lifting a finger. Izzy was just an intellectual, not a fighter, not a sportsman, just a thinker. Luckily, he knew how to use his brains to create tactics, which would help him greatly not only in judo but especially in kendo.

"Don't worry about it," Ken reassured him. He knew Izzy wasn't looking forward to getting some muscle. Ken thought about it for a few seconds – what exactly would be a good motivation for Izzy, anyway? With chess, it was getting the upper-hand over Ken, whom Izzy had always admired (even as an upperclassman) for his great adaptability and knowledge. But now, they were dealing with Izzy's greatest weakness. Well... Ken leaned forward, knowing the trick. Hopefully it would work, though Izzy was a bit stiff about the subject. "I hear Momoe and Mimi go for the muscle-type, eh, eh?"

Izzy frowned, then reddened slightly.

"Ken, I never really pictured you saying something like that. And besides, how would you know that?" Izzy said. He then paused, glanced nearby where he saw Yolei, then looked back at Ken who smiled awkwardly and rubbed the back of his neck. Izzy grinned slyly and narrowed his eyes. "Ah, because Yolei hangs with Mimi, and Momoe is Yolei's sister, so therefore—"

"Actually, Izzy, I was thinking it would motivate you, and it's really not that hard to figure out _their_ type," Ken interrupted. Izzy had a knack for misunderstanding human emotion sometimes, which was a funny quirk Ken examined about the computer-obsessive guy. Ken loved to examine personality and ego, psychology and human reaction. It was a subject that highly interested him, and it was greatly effective in the battlefield. "Yolei doesn't really talk about her sister. And besides, you always blush around Momoe. Wasn't she the one you wrote a love letter to?"

Izzy's ears turned slightly pink, causing the younger boy's lips to curl upward just a bit.

"Hey, everyone hounded me enough about that letter and I'm not going to divulge who it was addressed to," Izzy grumbled. Ken smiled with amusement. _Divulge, long-winded sentence structure; this guy really is Izumi Koushiro,_ Ken thought behind his curled lips. Izzy's half-hearted glare melted slightly as he turned back in the direction of Momoe and Mimi, whom hadn't glanced in their direction once since beginning their judo training. He folded his arms, sighed, and finally replied, "Well, I suppose as the wielder of Knowledge, it's in my best interest to gain wisdom in all subjects, even if one of those subjects isn't my strong point... Besides—" He reddened slightly. "—They _do_ tend to date more surfers than intellectuals. BUT, I am NOT doing this to be attractive. I am doing this because I want to gain a better grasp of martial arts, and to improve my and Tentomon's fighting style. Right, Tentomon?"

"Aye, aye, cap'n!" Tentomon spouted, holding one of his spindly legs up to his forehead in a salute.

"Thataboys," Ken grinned. He chuckled lightly, glancing nearby toward Yolei as the girl walked toward the kendo half of the center. As she walked past, they caught each other's eye – their look seemed to last longer than a glance, though shorter than a gaze. Her steps slowed, her hair fluttered in the wind, her rosy lips quirked into a smile.

It was almost like she was walking in slow mo, each flounce emphasized, each portion of her body exaggerated, each toss of her hair a whiff of Herbal Essence shampoo and Love Potion perfume. Ken gulped, only for her to disappear behind a corner, and for a large breath to exhale from his lungs.

Wow, he so did not expect that.

"Hey, you," Izzy called over to him, giving him a suspicious sly look. "Who are you gonna be, Yoda or Dr. Love? I have prophecies to decode at home, let's get this judo thing over with. You can talk to Yolei later."

"Ah, yeah, of course," Ken tensed.

Her lips... her laugh... her skin...

A second later and Ken got a flash of the nightmare he'd had three months ago, just after the Battle for Odaiba. He instantly winced, one palm smacking his forehead as his teeth clenched. Izzy blinked questioningly, but Ken swiftly shook his head as if to signal that he was okay before putting on his equipment to get ready for training.

How could he do that to her, even in a dream? How could he do that to _Davis?_ How could he do that to anyone?

Wormmon wasn't as willing as Izzy to let it go, though. He scrutinized Ken for the rest of the day, asking him if he was alright, if he'd had another bad dream. When Ken told him no, Wormmon continued to always be at his side, no matter what.

Ken was grateful.

He couldn't ask for a better partner.

.---.

Meanwhile, Cody was teaching kendo in the other half of the Training Center. The room was well-lit by glowing orb lights, the walls decorated with sliding doors and portraits of great kendo masters of the past. During break, he looked over each picture, ending with the portrayal of Hiroki Hida.

"Who you lookin' at?" said a small voice next to him. Cody looked over and was surprised to see it had come from someone older than himself, a girl who was even older than his best friend, Yolei. She shared Yolei's eyesight to the point of wearing square purple-rim glasses. She had short reddish hair that hung around her head in a small bob, just two inches short of touching her shoulders.

He was even more surprised to realize that the woman was Yolei's sister, Chizuru.

"Oh, my dad," he said with a warm smile, glancing back at the portrait of his father in his mid-twenties, standing out in the midst of a great battle. The portrait of Hiroki Hida portrayed him as a strong burly man, stooped over as his large foot rested against a large boulder. His right arm was raised toward the heavens, index finger pointing at the clouds as his body was thrust into destiny and an open-mouthed grin. That had never happened to Hiroki Hida, of course, but someone drew it because people said Hiroki Hida reminded them of the great warriors of old, the kind who died doing what they believed in. Cody's grip tightened on the sword his grandfather had left him, a sword last wielded by his father. It was true that Grandpa Chikara had never used the sword after his son died; he'd given it to his son, he wouldn't take it back until it was time to pass it down once more, be it to his grandson or to a more worthy heir. "It's been years since he died, but I still remember how happy he always was."

Three months had passed since the death of Cody's grandfather. It was harder than ever, especially because Grandpa was the last man he knew who had become like a father to Cody after his own father left. Chikara taught Cody how to _be_ a man, how to live his life not only as a good man, but as a great _human being_. Cody smiled half-wryly, a part of him wishing so deeply to be able to turn back the wheels of time and stop MetalSeadramon's attack from hitting his grandfather.

"I'm sorry about your dad—and your grandfather," Chizuru said. Cody blinked at her, then softly smiled in his own simple way, knowing his grandfather wouldn't want him to be sad. In fact, ole Gramps Chikara wouldn't want him to turn back the wheels of time either, because he went by the belief that everything happened for a reason. Cody lost his father which would set his path onto becoming a Destined, Cody lost his grandfather and leaped into becoming the man his father and grandfather knew he would become.

"Thank you," he said. "I appreciate it."

Chizuru giggled happily. They remained silent for a few seconds, just staring at Papa Hida's portrait. It was only when break was almost up that Chizuru mustered the courage to tap the hilt of shining Dynasty Blade, which glinted in the sunlight. Cody immediately ripped it from her hand almost unconsciously, causing her to jump slightly before Cody gave her an apologizing wince.

"Ah, sorry, I just—" He smiled nervously. "It's a habit I've developed, to protect it."

"It's okay," Chizuru laughed. She blinked and peered closer to it, just enough so that he wouldn't feel threatened by her presence. Not that he could ever be threatened too much by Chizuru, even if she (like her younger sister) was a strong woman – he just didn't think her the type to suddenly attack him unless she had to. Armadillomon gave him an odd look, as if wondering why he was allowing Chizuru to get so close to the sword. Cody didn't mind much. "Do people really try stealing it that often?"

"Yeah," Cody said sadly. "It's a famous sword, people could make a lot of money selling it. But I don't want it for profit. My grandfather gave me this under the belief that I would take care of it, that maybe I could use it to do some good. Ever since I began practicing kendo, I've always wondered what it would be like using it. Unfortunately, I haven't been able to master my strokes yet, but... I'm close to accomplishing what my grandfather dreamed I would."

"Hehe, I could help you master your strokes. Anytime, anywhere, Hida."

"Really? You know how to use stro—"

He was interrupted by her loud giggling. Almost instantly, the 14-year-old Cody half-gawked and half-facepalmed, red ebbing in his cheeks as he raised both eyebrows. He really hadn't expected that; Chizuru was usually the quiet one of the Inoue family. Between Momoe's obnoxious antics with Mimi and Jun, Mantarou's flirtation with a million women per week, and Yolei's aggressive behavior, Chizuru was a walk in the park. Well, sometimes, anyway.

She was the last Inoue sibling Cody expected to make sex jokes.

"Um, uh—" He struggled with a response.

Chizuru giggled again and tapped the hilt of the sword one more time, then slowly brought her fingertip from the sword to lightly press it against his chest. When he tilted backwards just enough to realize she was brushing against him, she leaned in to peck him on the cheek. "Well, you grew up well, Cody Hida. If you need help with that sword, don't hesitate to ring me up. I've known you for years now, shy one. Break your shell a little, yes?"

Bringing that same hand to her right side, Chizuru winked, turned, and Beyounce-walked away with hips swaying and hair whipping past her face. Cody watched with wide eyes, blood swiftly traveling to his face and ears as heat flooded into his veins. Almost immediately, he twirled around to look back at his dad's picture and grab his forehead, a small disbelieving laugh escaping him.

"Ahaha," he whispered. "Um."

He didn't know what else to say, other than to laugh incredulously. It wasn't until Chizuru had disappeared into the girl's bathroom that Cody finally gained the courage to look away from the portrait and instead to the sword still clinging to his side. He watched it stiffly tinker against his kendo equipment, as if alive enough to hunger for battle.

Cody smiled lightly.

_This blade..._he thought. _Without a doubt, it's my most precious possession. With this, I am a man._

He refused to sink into a dirty mind.

_I must clear those thoughts away now,_ he urged himself. _I have a class to teach._

But it was _really_ hard to disperse that image in his mind, and there was a part of himself that _really_ didn't want to. He clenched his fists together and looked at the portrait next to his father, this one of his grandfather whose eyes stared long and hard and firmly into those who stared back. Cody's eyes glimmered determinedly.

_This is a test of my concentration!_ he thought. _I will work hard to dispel these thoughts, Grandfather! Just you watch!_

Little did Cody know that somewhere, Gramps was chuckling at his grandson's fortune and wishing he'd hurry up and live a little. Though, he had to admire Cody's resilience. Chikara wouldn't have had much luck suppressing Chizuru – much less could a teenaged boy like Cody.

_Good luck,_ the portrait seemed to tell Cody, who sighed as he realized he was swiftly failing at what he thought was a test of inner-strength.

.---.

_Dear B,_

_I know I'll probably never send this letter. My hands are shaking I'm so scared, and I want to tell you how much I care about you and how much I miss you, but I know that no matter how much I want to tell you, I'll never find you. This letter will just get sent back, and I'll feel worse than I did when I mailed it... But they say that writing a letter, even one you'll never send, sometimes makes you feel better. So here I go._

_I love you._

Sora's breath caught in her throat. It seemed odd that only moments ago, she was downstairs tucking a cover over Matt. He'd had a hard day, between a concert where his teeth got stuck in the guitar strings and badly broken equipment from when the drummer drummed a wee bit too hard. The fans went home disgruntled, disappointed, and demanding refunds, except Jun who thought being the only groupie left would give her an automatic backstage pass.

When Sora helped him back to her mother's apartment, he was having troubles keeping his head up or his eyes open. Thus, she helped him onto the couch and told him to take a nap, that she'd be there when he woke up, that she wouldn't leave him alone despite his desire to stay awake for her. In the mean time, she'd snuck up to her mother's attic to retrieve some old 60's rock she knew Matt would like, hoping it'd raise his dampened spirits. While searching through Led Zeppelin and Ozzy Osbourn, she came across a box about half her height and twice her width filled with white rectangles.

Instead, she'd pulled out a box filled with letters from 1987. They were all addressed to the same person—"B"—who Sora didn't recognize. Who was B? Her father certainly wasn't named B or even had a nickname that came close to "B". Haruhiko, her papa-bear, had been her mother's high school sweetheart. They'd gotten engaged in college and had Sora within a year of their graduation from the same university, a fairytale romance that Sora always admired, even if her father was distant from them now.

Yet, here she was, reading unsent letters in her mother's handwriting, proclaiming her love for a man whom was definitely not her father.

Despite something deep inside her chest telling her that this wasn't any of her business and she should put down the box before she found out something she would've rather not, she kept reading. Her eyes flounced from one edge of the page to the next, tabbing each pinch of information, each nook of her mother's cursive, every word muttered within the endless depths of her mind.

_Sometimes, I still think about when I first saw you. It was noon, but the beach and the glittering waves all paled in comparison to the beauty you held. I remember thinking, "Look at that. A man with moonlight skin, and even lighter hair." I ran over to your side; you looked shipwrecked, with your wet hair slung over your shoulders, and your body slumped over in the beach, clothes raggedy and torn. I gave you CPR until I saw your eyes open._

_They were dark, eerie, but there was something in them – something that got me lost._

Her mother always had a thing for theatrics.

_When I asked your name, you didn't respond. You only said to call you B, and though you were always odd, I liked the sound of it. It fit you. Despite sheltering you until you were strong again, despite listening to your screams when you slept, despite wondering every single day if you'd wake up and leave forever, you told me that we couldn't be together, that you weren't meant to stay here, that there was a whole other place waiting for your return. Even so, I wanted to be with you, I wanted to hold you, I wanted to leave my world behind for the world you knew._

_What is your world?_

At this, Sora paused. A whole other world? Could B have spoken to Sora's mother about the Digital World? No, no one knew about the Digital World back then. He could've talked to her about a metaphorical world – a world he wanted Earth to become, a vision of a better place. Couldn't he talk about that? Did it have to be the Digital World?

But Tai, Sora, Matt, Mimi, Joe, Izzy, TK, and Kari weren't the first humans to travel to the Digital World. Before them came five others, five who fought the bristling waves, who conquered evils, who sealed the darkness of Apocalymon and death, who battled with the powers of the corruptible; against things the other later twelve Destined couldn't comprehend. The first five fought the first true evil of the Digital World, and it was by their legacy Sora's crew had to hold above their heads, the shadow they had to walk out from behind, the weight they carried with them every day.

Could B have been one of those five Destined?

_There was something different about you. Something almost unearthly. Something that filled me with peace, like as long as you were around, nothing could harm me. I wanted to leave behind the life I'd grown to love, I wanted to leave behind the man I'd promised to marry, I wanted to leave behind my family, if only it meant staying with you._

_Even if you didn't love me back, I wanted to follow you._

Sora's chest clutched.

_She wanted to leave Dad?_ she thought, her brow furrowing as she continued reading. She read through the rest of the letter, then tossed it aside before digging deeper into the box and picking up another one. She peeled back the envelop and tried to stop herself from trembling with anger.

"_I'm going back to the heavens." It was the last thing you said to me before you disappeared. You grabbed my hand and kissed my forehead, you held me tightly and whispered something in a language I didn't understand. I wish I did. I wish I'd known more about you. I wish I'd had the time to know you more, to at least find your real name._

_The heavens... What could you have meant by that? Sometimes you'd talk about people who were after you, hoping to hurt you; that they were the reason you ended up on the beach, because they were trying to kill you. That soon, they'd see you enjoying life and would try to destroy you again, because you didn't deserve happiness. If I didn't leave you, they would make my life terrible as well, and all hell would break loose. But you do deserve happiness! You deserve to enjoy life, to feel as safe with me as I do with you! Even if they made my life hell... I would be happy... because I had you!_

That was something she had in common with her mom. Many times, Sora thought back to Biyomon. Though she wasn't romantically interested in the little pink birdie, whenever Biyomon was around, Sora felt like the world could melt away and she'd still be safely hidden in the wings of her partner. There was never a moment where Sora denied Biyomon's sanctum, never a moment where she felt Biyomon failed her, never a moment where Biyomon's comfort didn't succeed to fill Sora with some sort of peace.

Sometimes, Sora hoped that a guy would make her feel that way. Sometimes, Matt or Tai were able to fill that void, but in the end, the only one who could make Sora feel safe was either Biyomon or herself. She would do anything to protect Biyomon and vice versa, and that alone was enough to warm her in even the coldest of days.

She moved on to the next letter, this one pondering B's last words to Sora's mother.

_Is that why you returned to the heavens? Because they were after you? And by heavens, did you mean die, or maybe that you really went back to the world you talked about so often? I always thought you'd meant a place, a world you wanted to be in, a situation you wanted to see. In truth, when I met you, you showed me that peaceful world in my heart._

_That is why I will name her Sora, which means "sky". She'll become my heavens, my peaceful place, my world that I venture toward when chaos catches me._

Sora's heart thumped.

This letter... these events... the man or creature her mother met on the beach, who she saved the life of, was he her real father? Did that mean Haruhiko was only her step-father? No. Her mother would've told her if Haruhiko wasn't her real father.

_But he's never around,_ she thought to herself, biting down on her bottom lip as she worriedly placed the letters back in the box. _He's always off working, and when he comes back home, I never see him hug or kiss Mom. He'll smile and say hello, he'll play boardgames or act like my father, but that's only when he's around. Mom says he's just a regular workaholic, but could it be more? Maybe he knows about Mom's affair, that I'm not _**his**_ kid. Maybe that's why he's always away, because he doesn't want to deal with the past. That my mom is still in love with... with B_.

And the biggest question that remained in Sora's heart, a question she wasn't sure if she was just overemphasizing or if she had a right to be suspicious, was if this man was a Destined. What if he'd come from the Digital World, one of the first five? Or could he have actually been a digimon? There were many humanlike digimon in the Digital World, like Angemon or Myotismon, who looked like men and walked like men but were mon. Did they have the anatomy to mate with humans, and if they did, how exactly would the combination of digital and reality work out?

_You're probably making a big deal out of nothing,_ she thought. _Mom was still together with Dad when she wrote these letters. Maybe she fell in love with this guy, but she's always been in love with Dad. I know Mom and Dad, and I know there's no possible way this B guy could be my dad._

Right?

------------

**Author's Note:** Updated Love For A Fool's soundtrack on my profile. Enjoy!


	11. Epilogue V: Storms

_**THE LIGHTHOUSE**_

**Disclaimer:** I do not own Digimon and I am not making money off this fanfic. I do not own/make money off of any companies/music/shows/etc I mention (such as Dragon Ball Z, the theme songs, Dasani water, Batman/Superman, et cetera). The definition of "mimicry" came from Merriam Webster Online. No infringement intended. _Feedback is wanted and highly encouraged._ _**Author's Notes are almost always at the end of each chapter.**_ Thank you.  
**Story Themes:** "What If" by Kate Winslet, "Die For You" by Megan McCauley, and "Gravity of Love" by Enigma  
**Swift Note:** While I use dubbed names (for the most part) of the characters, just in case you're not sure, Joe in the English version has one brother named Jim. However, in the original Japanese version, he had two named Shuu and Shin. In this fanfic, **I go by the Japanese version (using Shuu and Shin) for plot purposes**. I apologize if there's any confusion. Also, because I know some of you will wonder after reading this final installment, no, I'm not setting up a Shin/Mimi relationship, lol. Fat chance.

And yes, this is the last epilogue. :D

Hopefully you'll stay with me for The Lighthouse! Either message/e-mail me or review/favorite/alert this story if you want to be informed when the next saga begins. :) For those who don't have an account, keep an eye out or put my profile in your favorites, hopefully you'll be able to catch it! I'll gladly send a message to everyone when the new story is up, even those who lurk (just as long as I have some way to contact you, lol). :) You can e-mail me at spiffyisglory-at-yahoo-dot-com!

Sorry for the lateness of this last chapter. I think my beta and I went over it a few hundred times to make sure it was up to standards, hopefully it won't disappoint! Thank you to all of my readers for everything, you all are amazing and I've had some fantastic conversations with many of you. Can't wait to get up The Lighthouse, I hope you'll enjoy reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it!

**The Lighthouse: Love For A Fool**

"Here's the mirror, behind there is a screen  
on both ways you can get in.  
Don't think twice before you listen to your heart,  
follow the trace for a new start.  
What you need and everything you'll feel  
is just a question of the deal.  
In the eye of storm you'll see a lonely dove  
the experience of survival is key  
to the gravity of love."  
—_Gravity of Love_ by Enigma

**Prologue's Epilogue Part V  
**_...Storms..._

Gatomon awoke to the low caterwauls of her sparring partner. Red tainted her eyesight, the sting of a black eye and several gashes across her thigh making quick work of her ability to stand. She stumbled upward, attempting to sit up, only to find herself trembling back down.

_I'm still weak,_ she hissed under her breath. She looked up, staring into the beaded gaze of Davis Motomiya, who stared back with a magnetic fierceness that found its way right back into her cerebral cortex where it idled and swelled. In a lot of ways, Davis's eyes reminded her of a giant, barreling down on her with the weight of the world. Great Atlas, come to bear all of Earth's problems upon his shoulders. Embittered, she smirked in all her feline glory. _I'm losing to an idiot like Davis._

After a few weeks of pestering from the boy, she'd finally agreed to train with him. She could still remember the battle from three months ago like it happened three minutes ago. She'd been ready for Myotismon, more ready than she'd ever been for him – it was rare when she was able to pick him apart, and now that he was back to being plain 'ole Myotismon, she wanted to kick his ass. Yet, somehow, she didn't quite remember why, instead of winning her fight with him, she woke up several hours later in the Odaiba Hospital.

The only thing she remembered of her fight with Myotismon was darkness. Deep, seething darkness, and the high-pitched screams of hundreds. Hundreds of what? Of innocents? Of Myotismon's minions? And most importantly, had her scream joined theirs as shadow veiled her from the world?

She wanted to get stronger. Not only because she wanted to protect Kari, but because she wanted to protect _herself_. Myotismon had taken a lot from her: her past, her destiny, her best friend before Kari and before Patamon. She'd _fought_ to take all those back from him, and if the day came that she would have to face him again, she wanted to be prepared.

The odd part was getting beat by a human. _A human!_

How—_pathetic._

"Oo ayk het?"

Gatomon groggily looked up at the boy as she hefted her paw to her own shoulder, where she felt blood seep from a deep wound. The boy cocked his head to the side and she distantly made out his brow furrowing, although the image was hazy and frantic. She swallowed hard, honing her hearing to better understand him.

"You awake yet?"

Finally it came in clear. She trudged toward him, achingly attempting to attack him again, but Davis dodged to the right and gripped her wrist. How long had she been out for? It couldn't have been long – Davis, while not the brightest bulb, wouldn't fight her if she was knocked out for longer than a few seconds. Even so, it felt almost like she'd been tossed into a grinder.

Nodules of glowing orange energy fizzled at his fingertips. Shagreen split around him, ruffling thin swords of grass that fermented in the pulsating wind. At the center of the odd orbs were flickering granules, blaring red and blue as they danced within the orbs' core.

Gatomon only had time to suck in a breath before he plowed his palms into the ground, rupturing the soil beneath her feet. She fumbled backwards, the loud boom of a crashing hovel echoing behind her. Surrounding trees and dead bushes whistled, as if responding to the energy, before dead silence took her eardrums once again. She knew it wasn't supposed to be silent. She knew she should've heard the loud _shhhhhh_ of dust spreading from where the hovel toppled, the spray of dirt as her body made a wide crevice in the ground, the crack of earth as splinters exploded beneath her.

Yet, she heard nothing but the beat of her heart.

_Why can't I beat him?_ She innerly winced. Granted, Davis had already mastered the basics of both Cody's and Ken's training by the end of two-and-a-half months. It was something that no one thought he could accomplish, that out of any of the Destined or anyone in general, it was _Davis_ who was able to take judo, chess, kendo, and meditation head-on and treat it like child's play (not that he didn't have difficulties – he struggled much, particularly during chess and meditation since he wasn't a patient person, but he managed). However, he'd gotten through their training even before Veemon, which was a feat in itself. It was rare for a human to get through it before their partner did, since digimon were naturally stronger than most humans.

Every morning and every night, he worked on controlling the abilities unlocked by the Overlord of Darkness. Every morning and every night, he faced Ex-Veemon to see who would win, and _Davis_ was the one who got through it without a sweat. Every morning and every night, he visited Kari to make sure she didn't wake up screaming. Every morning and every night, she caught him sneaking into Kari's room to watch over her (of course, Kari knew about it, and Davis knew that she knew, but he did it anyway, because she couldn't go three nights in a row without getting one of those damn nightmares).

Every morning and every night, Davis worked to grow stronger and stronger, not wasting a single moment of dillydallying in order to prepare for the events he knew were coming. Because only he and Kari had witnessed the power of just _one_ of those hideous Endless Ones, and the _weakest_ of the Endless Ones to boot.

It was almost unprecedented. When they were younger, Davis had almost always been the underdog—yet, now, it seemed like he was working and working _hard_ to be the overachiever. The past couldn't be changed, but the future—the _present—_was a different story.

_It's not only Myotismon I have to work to defeat..._ Gatomon thought, flashing back to how it felt when she woke up in the hospital. She remembered seeing Kari's face, glowing and bright, as her partner burst out in tears and embraced the feline tightly. Kari held her, and told her everything would be okay even though both of them knew it wouldn't be. Gatomon bit her bottom lip. _I have to get stronger. And stronger. And stronger!_

"Come on, Gatomon," Davis said with a smirk, raising his chin.

Even though Gatomon was panting, weary, struggling to even stand, she looked up at his wide grin and – at first reluctantly, then whole-heartedly – she nodded.

A simple, stimulating nod.

He knew how damaged she was, he knew how weak she was, he knew how afraid she was. Even so, even though anyone else would tell her to take a break and wait until she felt better to face Davis again, even though _Gatomon_ wanted to rest if only for five minutes, Davis knew. He _knew_ that she was willing to push herself to the limits, and _this. Was. Not. Her. Limit._

Not yet.

"Ugh!" Gatomon hoarsely screamed, yanking herself forward zealously as she launched at the human boy. It was only in that moment that he nodded back at her, lips never ceasing from that typical Motomiya Grin, a grin that would one day thrive in infamy. He pulled one hand behind his back, turned his side to her, and lined his free thumb in front of his nose.

_Davis and I have one thing in common,_ Gatomon thought, her claws briefly sinking into flesh before he pulled back and sent a jolt of fire right through her arm. She hardly winced, however, because she used that moment to grab him and slam into the ground.

"You're learning," Davis amusedly snerked.

Gatomon huffed, defying the smile that was tugging at her chest.

_We want to get stronger not only physically, but mentally, emotionally, spiritually,_ she thought, jumping away just in time to avoid a boomerang of crackling flame. _And we will get stronger for ourselves, for our fears, for our dreams – for Kari Kamiya. It's Kari that connects us, and Kari that will force us to fight harder, greater, stronger, than we have ever fought before._

This time, digimon would not fight evil alone. This time, their partners would be right beside them, putting themselves on the line, and cracking the barrier between human and monster. This time, they would take on the evil together, as one, united and strong.

.---.

Izzy was still sore from judo practice when he got Gennai's e-mail. He'd been decoding an ancient prophecy, one that hadn't been translated in over three thousand years, and though he hadn't a clue what the language was, Izzy was ecstatic to figure out all the symbols and hieroglyphic scrawls. He swung his laptop over his aching lap, propping the top open to reveal a keyboard resembling an enamel sphere, while the screen was mottled with orange and white pineapple specks. Izzy grinned warmly at the laptop. He'd just gotten a new one after having his old one for years. It'd held up great, but when it was recently destroyed by Piedmon, he couldn't help but get a new one, even if it was hard at the time.

Searching through his e-mail, he finally scoured Gennai's message up to the front of the screen and read it swiftly between each edge of the glowing rectangle.

_Izzy,_ the e-mail began,_ I hope you know you've always been like a son to me._

Izzy's brow crinkled as the mouse hovered over Gennai's name. He couldn't help but say to himself, "Gee, that's not a good way to begin an e-mail."

He continued to read on, _I can't say much, but I can tell you that we aren't dealing with only the Endless Ones. In the Digital World – in all Digital Worlds in many different dimensions – there is a power higher than even the Gods, than the Holy Angels or the Harmonious Ones, than Yggdrasil and his Royal Knights._

Yggdrasil... Izzy remembered around three months ago, when he was still bandaged up in the hospital. He was okay, but Gennai briefly visited him to relegate much information Izzy desperately always wanted to know but never had the chance to research. Wasn't Yggdrasil named as a creator of the Digital World? Not necessarily _their_ Digital World, but Izzy did know there were many parallel universes with parallel Digital Worlds, Digital Worlds that were created by many different circumstances.

One of the most common creators was Yggdrasil. From what Izzy understood, he was also one of the most powerful. According to Gennai, there was only one dimension to have defied Yggdrasil and live to tell the tale. If this power Gennai spoke of was even higher than that great digital god of old, then what exactly were they dealing with?

_A long time ago, there was an evil greater than even the Endless Ones,_ Gennai wrote. _The Endless Ones are powerful deities indeed, but are mere fodder to the power of _**Them**_. For both your safety and mine, I regretfully cannot tell you who exactly this "great evil" is, but please know... you must be cautious. The Endless Ones – two of who are "old friends" of yours – are only the beginning threads of a much bigger tapestry._

_Spend these last three months wisely. The lives of this dimension – of _**all**_ dimensions – rests on your shoulders._

Wait, several Endless Ones were "friends" of the Destined? And by friends, could Gennai possibly mean past enemies? If that was the case, Izzy could think of several old enemies they'd seen during the Battle for Odaiba. Hell, TK and Patamon were _training_ with one of their old enemies, Devimon. However, none of their past enemies rung true in Izzy's mind. While they'd faced some pretty powerful evils, most of their past enemies were clearly not Endless Ones. First of all, if the "Overlord of Darkness" implied that none of the other Endless Ones had shown their faces yet, that meant most if not all of their bigger past enemies weren't possible.

Devimon ended up making a treaty with TK in order to save the worlds (which was odd, but assuming Devimon still wanted to rule the Digital World, Izzy thought he was simply siding with the group that most benefited him), Etemon was seen lallygagging on the Odaiba ferris wheel while making obscene guitar gestures in order to pester Matt, Myotismon nearly killed Gatomon and took on Ken, MetalSeadramon _did_ kill Cody's grandfather, Puppetmon went head-to-head with Mimi (injuring her in the process, even if she was alright in the end), Machinedramon took on Joe before the blue-haired boy decided to move to the hospital and help his brothers with the wounded, and Piedmon was butting heads with just about every bloke he could find. Arachnemon and Mummymon were dancing in the streets of New York, and Oikawa was now a guardian of the Digital World (plus, Myotismon was no longer MaloMyotismon, thus no longer able to influence Oikawa – as if he'd fall for it again).

That also meant that the Endless Ones wouldn't beckon from the Digital World, since Oikawa's internal danger-detector wasn't set off at all before nor during nor after the dark portal appeared, despite the fact that the scar-shaped portal was spewing corrupted digimon from the sky.

The only "old friends" Izzy could think of were Apocalymon, BlackWarGreymon, the Master of the Dark Ocean, and Demon, but could Apocalymon have really been reborn, even in the World of Darkness? Hadn't BlackWarGreymon turned good? The Master of the Dark Ocean was a large probability considering Kari and Davis's recent experience, but Demon was sealed away by the Destined themselves! No no no, this was all wrong. Izzy, perturbed, sighed and looked over the second paragraph.

Davis and Kari couldn't even handle _one_ Endless One. _It_ played with them like they were fragile China dolls, despite unlocking an ancient power that transcended every scrap of energy they'd ever displayed before. Now there were several Endless Ones, Yggdrasil knew how many, and they were only the beginning?

He read on, _I'm not sure if the Endless Ones are working with the "bigger power". They could be, they could not be. I'm looking into it. I've learned that there are so far four Endless Ones – while I recognize several of their auras, their identities are not fully known yet. I have my suspicions, but I will not confirm them until I've confirmed them for myself. This could take hours, or it could take up the last three months. I _**can**_ tell you, however, that all of you can unlock the powers Davis and Kari had. Perhaps, if you're able to hone that energy and work with your partners to unlock their own abilities, we'll have a chance._

_Please, be careful, Izzy._

Izzy's brow furrowed yet again. He looked over the screen, as if waiting for Gennai to pop out of it and hug him or laugh or joke about something silly like he always did (well, he didn't pop out of the screen necessarily, but he had a tendency of opening a DigiPort at the absolutely worst of times and surprise Izzy), yet the e-mail ended instead with a note that caused his chest to tense.

With a burly, gnarled tone, Izzy read, _If you or the other Destined are taken away from me again, I would not only never forgive you for leaving, but I could never forgive myself for letting you go._

Between the aches of judo-pains and the weight he suddenly felt pressing his shoulders, Izzy buckled over and leaned his cheek against the screen. Worry clutched him, even in the midnight somnolence. Peaceful, right? Yet he couldn't feel that peace reach him.

.---.

Joe slammed into awakening when he heard Shuu's shrill cries into the night.

With globules of sweat dripping down his brow, he yanked his tangled arms and legs from his couch and rushed into his older brother's bedroom, where the boy was sprawled out amongst his white sheets with his face buried in his palms. Joe was panting, worry written across his expression as he watched the blue-haired bro wheeze into his hands, shoulders quaking with fearsweat and shaky adrenaline.

_Shuu...?_ Joe hesitated. Ever since Odaiba was attacked, many people lost homes. When Shuu and Shin just happened to be two of the many now-homeless people, Joe agreed to allow them sanctum in his own home, even if it meant giving up his bed. He didn't mind much, though. Living and hunting in the Digital World for a year of his life taught him to count his blessings, even if that'd been years ago. Besides, between their financial and medical issues, Joe's brothers needed his bedroom and guest room more than Joe did.

Unfortunately, with Joe's own stress levels, sleep was his Shangri La. An escape, a haven, asylum. This was the fourth night in a row that Shuu woke up screaming and clawing at the air, disturbing that same Arcadian peace.

"Joe, I'm sorry, I—" Shuu heaved, choking on his own words as Joe weaved across the room and rested on the bed, sitting next to Shuu. It felt a bit odd since they were both a lot older now. Back when they were boys, Shuu used to have nightmares all the time; they'd only swelled over the years, sometimes into full-blown night terrors where he'd wander around the house screeching about boogiemen or MaloMyotismon's bloodthirsty gaze. However, the fact that they were now grown men didn't stop Joe from reaching over and embracing his brother. Shuu hissed into his shoulder, trembling like a child. "We're not gonna make it, Joe."

_**ker-thump**_

Joe's heart leaped into his throat.

His brow furrowed.

Where was Mimi? He was almost sure she would've heard Shuu's screaming. Because of Joe's blatant lack of sleep, she'd sworn to stay overnight to force him into a comatose sleep. He didn't remember seeing her when he woke up, but he could almost feel her presence. Perhaps it was her soap or maybe it was her mere personality, but even when she wasn't in the room, her—what, aura?—still lingered, making the Kido residence brighter. If she were in that room, Joe wondered if she could calm down Shuu better than he could. She had a knack for that. Joe had a knack of panicking and making the situation worse – well, sometimes. He was pretty good with calming down underclassmen, like Cody (it was because he'd been there; a wisdom thing), but with his brothers... he just didn't know what to say. He was the baby of their Kido Trio, he was used to being the one comforted. These days, however, he found himself the comforter, the confidant, the protector.

Unlike Joe, however, Mimi had that ability to able to calm down anyone, regardless of who they were or what they'd been through. Joe fondly recalled how Mimi innately knew what they needed, and even if she used to be quite the wild thing who made situations explode (or implode) rather than quiet down, now she was not only sincere with her feelings, but sincere with others' feelings. She was fierce, like a lion, but had the gentle heart of a lamb. Joe remembered helping her after Puppetmon injured her, lacing up her wounds and trying to calm her down as she cried to be let go of. She still wanted to help the others, even though she couldn't even help herself – Joe had to _force_ her to lie down and _stay_ down until she was better.

Mimi could be selfish, she could be shallow, she could be mean. But, as a balanced and intricate human being, she was also giving, open-minded, and kindhearted. And she had always been there for Joe, especially nowadays when he'd needed her help most.

_Joe Kido!_ she'd screamed at him earlier that morning, her voice withered and sultry with adamant fury and determination. _You look like Ogremon! I know you're sleeping on a couch, but honestly, you look like you've been sleeping on granite! I am going to come over to your house and I swear if you do not get some sleep I will POUND you with my awesome Mimi Mallet. Understood?_

Yes, ma'am!

Joe sighed, rubbing Shuu's back as comfortingly as he could.

It was only when Shuu pulled away that Joe saw the real worry in his brother's eyes, a worry that forced Joe to think back. Mimi should've been there, not only to calm down Shuu, but to calm down Joe. The expression Shuu bore – it wasn't the typical "I had a dream the world blew up" expression. It was tantalizing, hysterical fear, paralyzing and deprecating.

Something putrid and vulpine curled inside Joe's chest, cackling with mocking irony and joy. Of course it was _Joe's_ brother that who would have something bad happen to him. He, the worrywart, the one person who was the most prepared, the _reliable_ one, had a brother who was either crazy or doomed to die or dooming everyone else with him.

"Don't say we're not going to make it, that's ridiculous," Joe asserted, though there was a part of himself that didn't believe it. He couldn't figure out _why_ he didn't believe it, though. Everyone had those moments where they thought they wouldn't make it through life. Didn't everyone sometimes get the eerie feeling that their roll of the dice was done? It wasn't only suicidal intrigue or depression, it was a thought that every man and woman and mon carried with them, that what if they died, what if tomorrow never came for them, what if their life was dealt a shorthand by destiny?

Perhaps Shuu could sense the hesitance in his voice, because the older man quickly looked away from Joe and bit down hard on his tongue to keep himself from saying anything more. Joe sighed. "Look, I'm not very good at this comforting thing. But... You're strong, Shuu. Not only that, but you're healthy, you don't have a single disease, and you're fit. If there was such a thing as 'above perfect health', you'd be it. You'll be fine. We'll all be fine."

"Oh, that's comforting. Like _that _hasn't been said before someone dies. No, we're going to die, Joe. _You're_ going to die." Shuu's voice was firm. "They're going to kill me, too."

"Who's going to kill you?" Joe asked. He raised an incredulous eyebrow.

"_Them_." Shuu shivered. "The things in the dark... under our beds at night... the things made of nightmares – beasts and creatures that thrive in shadow. They come from a world built on bones and they breathe the breaths of demons, where trees are decayed flesh and music is the screech of bats. Joe, if I die, promise me something."

"Don't be ridiculous, you sound crazy," Joe snorted. Boogiemen again. Shuu, however, conked him on the head, causing Joe to sigh and hastily rub the back of his neck. He didn't believe in visions or dream-prophecies; the only kind of prophecy he believed were the prophecies Gennai confirmed, and even then, prophecies could be tricky to interpret. Besides, Shuu had realistic dreams _every_ night about the silliest things, like how he was going to get drunk on brandy and explode his own house, yet that never happened and never would, especially because his house was already destroyed by Machinedramon.

In Shuu's current heightened awareness, Joe was internally flailing for anything to calm his older brother down (yet some would argue that _Joe_ was the one who needed to calm down).

"Dying would suck," Shuu admitted. He bowed his head, his fingernails digging into his cotton pajama bottoms. "Yeah, but I won't let you die, though. Don't worry. All bros gotta have this discussion eventually, especially now that the world's endin'. If I die, hell, even if I _don't_ die, you live long and proud, and never back down before your fears. I'm always gonna be right here, and I'm gonna fight those frickers beside you, guiding you. This whole world needs you – and, most importantly, never forget your dreams. Fight for them. They're powerful."

_Powerful enough to defeat a brute like MaloMyotismon,_ Joe thought with an appreciative grin. Shuu caught his look and instantly knew what his younger brother was thinking, causing a small amused smirk to curl his lips.

"You want to be a doctor, don't you? I know you haven't gotten there yet, but you're talented. You'll still try, right?" Shuu asked. That made Joe hesitate. He didn't fully know what he wanted to be yet, although he had a good clue it was somewhere in the medical field. They say to stick to what you know, but that only made things more confusing for Joe because, minus athletics, Joe was generally good at everything. However, that led him to the next most logical conclusion: if you're good at everything, stick to what you have experience in. Joe had great experience in two things: the Digital World, and medicine. It gave him a very vague idea of what he wanted to do in life, although how he could use both to his advantage he wasn't sure. Shuu just smiled warmly and ruffled the top of Joe's head. "Dreams will take you far if you never forget them, even if they're not realized yet. They're deep inside you, waiting to be unleashed."

_What about your dreams, Shuu?_ Joe bit his bottom lip in order to stop himself from speaking out. But then, he thought, what if Joe ended up dying? What if Shin or Shuu died, too? What if Shuu's nightmare wasn't just a nightmare about death, but a deeper, more profound nightmare, of the whole world exploding or something?

In the end, Joe's eyes glossed over. He briefly wondered how he should respond, but in the end, he merely looked at the amalgamation of sweat and goosebumps tracing along his brother's arms. Smiling wanly, Joe stood and reached out a hand to Shuu.

_It's no use freaking out over it,_ he told himself. _It'll give me an ulcer._

"Obviously, I can't change your mind," Joe said. _Can I even change my own mind?_ "But if you're not going to sleep, I'll make us some hot chocolate."

Shuu paused, eyeing Joe suspiciously, before he smugly lifted his chin and gave a dogged grin. "Psh, why Joe, this late at night? Hot chocolate is not very healthy, big-shot surgeon."

Joe harrumphed and pulled back his hand just as Shuu was two centimeters from grabbing it. When Shuu blinked at the lack of flesh to grip, Joe grinned back and replied, "Well, between Gomamon watching comedians at one in the morning and you waking me up at four in the morning, I doubt a mug of hot chocolate's health is the issue."

"Smartass."

"Hey, I think Gomamon's rubbing off on me."

"You always blame your digimon."

"Really? He always blames me."

"Can I have brandy instead of hot chocolate?"

"No."

"Please?"

"_No_."

"Little goodie-two-shoes!"

"Shut-up, Shuu."

.---.

_Ick, do I have to have loud-ass annoying nightmares every night just to get those two to notice me?_ Shin thought with a grunt. He stood in the hallway listening to them talk as if no one else was around, though Shin had originally gotten out of bed to see what the commotion was. Shuu did this every single damn night, and Shin was getting sick of it. He wasn't sure if he was angry because he thought Shuu was doing it just for the attention or if it was the fact that Shin never bonded with his brothers anymore, but the oldest Kido felt awfully juvenile as he tiptoed backward before his brothers could see him.

He didn't want to be a part of their touchy-feely sausagefest anyway.

_I'm terrible,_ he thought, suddenly disturbed by his train of thought. He kept doing that lately. Where he failed, either Shuu or Joe succeeded. Perhaps it was just his latest lack of sleep and financial issues, or maybe it was that he'd always had jealousy problems but never let them fester, but he could feel old issues bubbling up in his chest. Why was Joe the Kido bro to become world-renown and highly respected? Joe was just as strong as any of the other Chosen, he was just well-known because he was one of the _first_. Why did Shin's house get destroyed when Joe could probably gather a bungle of groupies to pay for a new house (not that Shin was poor, not at all, but he was still on the lower doctor foodchain despite better training than his brothers)? Why did Shuu get the support of Joe when it was Shin whose latest medical operations failed?

He'd tried to save many lives this week. Yet, it was like everyone who'd come to him had been touched by death. He could perhaps count on two hands how many people he saved out of the hundreds he'd treated three months ago. He'd never seen so many people die within just a day – hell, he'd never seen so many people die _period_.

Sometimes, he wished his brothers would disappear. It was childish and selfish and stupid, something a man of his age should've been maturer about, yet it was that thought—that epiphany—that as long as they were around, he wasn't _good_ enough. He was always being compared to them, and he was sick of it. If Shuu wasn't surrounded by people because of his horrifying and vivid nightmares, people were raving about the great Joe. What about Shin?

_Woofta!_

Suddenly, Shin bounced backwards on his heels as he accidentally wound himself around someone else. She was a girl a few inches shorter than him, with billowy brunette hair dashed with bubblegum pink streaks. She blinked up at him innocently, her palms lightly pressed against his broad chest as she tilted her head to the side.

_Mimi?_ he echoed internally, his eyes narrowing into a glare as she smiled.

"Oh, Shin, is Shuu okay?" asked Mimi. "I was snoozin' on the grandpa chair and was havin' troubles wakin' up! Silly, I know, but that's me!"

"He's _fine_," he snipped.

Mimi's brow furrowed instantly. He couldn't help but innerly wince, knowing that Mimi picked up on everything. She didn't mean to, she just had that innate empathetic ability to sense people's moods be it good or bad. Sometimes, she listened to those empathetic mood-tellers and tried to understand why a person felt a certain way, while other times she pressed on in order to push buttons, as if testing her subject. Shin, however, was someone she didn't quite understand, which was alright. He didn't understand her, either, and he didn't _want_ to understand her. Mimi was every silly immature girl he'd ever met in high school who were too interested in fashion and magazines to focus on schoolwork and the meaning of careers.

He fought the urge to tell her to grow the hell up and get those stupid highlights out of her hair.

"You alright, Shin? You seem a little edgy," she replied.

"I'm just peachy," Shin mused before mussing his own hair in frustration. "Look, just let me through. My brothers are being sickening, always so—_touchy_ with each other." He peeled back his lips into a sinister grin, causing Mimi to briefly shudder. "Why, if you're trying to boink Joe, I think your biggest competition is Shuu. I've never seen Joe so _quick_ to run to someone else's aid."

Mimi blinked.

Blinked again.

Tilted her head to the side.

"Shin...?"

"Hm?"

"Joe has always gone to you for advice and when it comes to trusting someone, you always come first," Mimi told him. Shin's eyes bulged for a second before she smiled sweetly and reached forward to tap him on the cheek. "And Shuu gives you hugs everyday. You tell him you don't want a hug, but he gives them to you anyway. I guess Shuu's just like that, he likes hugging people, but I think he hugs you most. If you think they're not giving you enough attention, you sure are a gluttonous guy."

With that, she turned on her heel and began walking in the direction of the kitchen, where both Kido and Tachikawa could smell the thick aroma of milk being heated over the stovetop. Homemade rolls of chocolate slid into the pot of milk, gliding inward like silk fabric.

Shin grabbed Mimi's wrist and pulled her backwards, catching her gaze almost immediately.

"What do you know, you anorexic retard? You think you can leave Odaiba for years on end and have things be the same when you come back? Rain check," he hissed. Mimi bit her bottom lip and looked away from him. "_You_ are no longer the 'Odaiba Princess'. I don't care if you're back for good, you're old news—so mind your own Goddamn business and go back to New York where you belong."

_**SMACK**_

Heat rushed to Shin's right cheek, where a red handprint swathed across his pale skin. His eyes widened, glasses splitting across his face before ramming against the nearby hallway wall. He found himself looking sideways, his neck craned due to the force of impact. He stumbled backwards and turned back to view Mimi, one of his hands reaching to clench his cheek as he venomously glared at her.

"You little _bitch_," he howled furiously, marching forward. He raised a hand, fingers writhing in the air like squiggling worms as fury filled his eyes.

Mimi grabbed his wrist before it could fall and twisted it behind his back, causing Shin to briefly hiss in pain as he glared behind him at the pink-haired mistress. She didn't look so cute now, did she? Her teeth clenched into a snarl, eyes fiercely gleaming—dangerously staring forward into the darkness in front of the both of them as she bent his arm in order to disallow all movement. Holding him firmly in front of her, Palmon (who'd also been sleeping the whole time) gave an alarmed gasp as she ran to Mimi's side.

Leaning forward so Palmon wouldn't hear her, Mimi growled, "_Back off_, Shin. I don't know how you got so mean, especially because you used to be so nice, but whatever it is, _get over it._ The other Shin was better. You're just a voracious jerk looking to feel better by being an ass to one of those 'mean high school girls who got with jocks and turned down geeks'. You're the one who's jealous because his brother doesn't hug him enough. _You_ are the one who needs to grow-up, so _you_ get over _your_self, and don't ever raise a hand to me again. Understood, or should I repeat myself?"

Her grip tightened on his twisted arm.

Shin grimaced, but (begrudgingly) allowed himself to nod. As she released him, he swung away from her, panting and holding his chest as his freed arm flexed. He felt the blood return to his veins, the pins and needles pour over his muscles, the warmth of realization spread to his elbow.

"You're right," Shin muttered. Mimi huffed and raised an eyebrow, causing Shin to look away from her. "I _have_ changed from the Shin you and everyone else knew. It probably has something to do with the fact I've seen 342 deaths these last three months, and the count's going up. And up. And _up._ Bodies keep piling around good 'ole Shinny-boy, and he can't figure out what to do with all of 'em."

"What, so now you're speaking in third-person?"

"Shut-up, retard. Not only are these bodies from Odaiba, but these were people I could've _saved_. People I _knew_, people I _grew up with_. If I had the power, if I had the speed, if I had the resources, I could've helped them _live_. Joe and Shuu were successful in helping most of their people, why wasn't I? I mean, I didn't _treat_ 342 people – most of them were already goners by the time I got to them – but I could've saved a bigger percentage... I could've... _helped_ more than I did, yet I've seen so many deaths and... and..."

As his hands clenched into fists, his knuckles turned white. The glare swiftly faded from Mimi's expression as she reached forward to rest a hand on his shoulder, her brow tensing as she opened her mouth to say something. Instead, Shin grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him, fingers entwined with her hair as he poured miseries out for the first time in three months. Three months, everything had pent up, everything had exploded, everything was washing over him in the misery he'd bathed in since the horror of the Battle for Odaiba.

"I have nightmares, too! I'm scared, too! I... I want to comfort Joe and Shuu... but how can I when I can't even comfort myself?!" he hissed into her hair. He felt Mimi's muscles tighten, her hands flexing against his chest as if she were trying to decide whether or not to stay or pull away. He held her tighter, teeth clenched as he said, "You were right... my brothers do love me a lot. But I need more than that knowledge. I want more. You have to help me, Mimi."

"Look, Shin, I'm sorry about everything – that's simply terrible," she said quietly. "But—this is something you need to discuss with them, not me. Please let go of me."

"I'm so _frustrated_ and _confused_. I've felt things to an extreme I've never felt before. I can't take it."

"Shin, I know it's hard, but you need to let go of me."

"If you're not like all the other 'mean girls', then shouldn't you stay?" he asked, fingers digging between her shoulder blades. Mimi hesitated. He felt a mixture of relaxed and tensed muscles – he could see by Palmon's expression that even her partner was uncomfortable with Shin's closeness.

_What are you doing, Kido?_ he thought with an amused grin. _You idiot, you just called her a retard and almost hit her. You implied that your brothers, one of who is a best friend of Mimi's, are having an incestuous relationship. You know you still think she's a retard no matter how much she claims differently, and you still want to hit her – even if you won't. And though you know everything you're thinking and saying and doing is absolute bullshit, you don't _**care. **_After everything that's happened you're _**numb**_._

He released her almost simultaneously. He stepped backwards, smiling semi-awkwardly at her as she looked away and rubbed the back of her neck. He swallowed, fingernails digging into his thighs as he waited for her response. Out of all the people he could tell his problems to, why did he choose Mimi? He hated Mimi Tachikawa. He'd always hated Mimi Tachikawa, ever since she was a flat-chested bitchchild who made fun of Joe in elementary school. He would _always_ hate Mimi Tachikawa, because she was nothing but a moronic, clumsy, shallow ditz who thought she could get away with anything because she was rich and famous. He wouldn't let her influence his brother. He _hated_ that she was so connected to him through their digital duties, because as much as Shin despised his brothers, he despised Mimi the most.

Yet she continued to stand there, staring at him with sympathy flickering deep inside her eyes. She then looked away, sighing, as Shin felt something angry and sad curl up inside him. Sympathy. _Mimi's_ sympathy. Out of all the things she could give him, sympathy – and kindness, and love, and friendship – was last on his mental list.

"I'm sorry... about everything," she said, turning to glance at the kitchen where Shuu and Joe were noisily bustling around to fix hot chocolate (with, Mimi and Shin saw, Shuu secretly spiking it with several shots of brandy). She wryly smiled. "But you have to be sincere with your heart. You worry me, Shin. They're doing their best to be there for not only each other, but for you. If you want more attention, you have to reach out and try to get it. Just—" She bit her bottom lip in thought, then folded her fists behind her back. "Don't force it on people, either. I can be there for you, but frankly, your attitude pisses me off."

"Ditto."

"It didn't seem that way when you were stroking my hair." She shuddered.

Shin's expression twisted into a snarl, voice gnarled with anger as he spouted, "Oh screw you, Tachikawa. You're just easy, that's why I— dammit, why am I justifying myself to a retard?"

"Stop calling me that."

"You're right, that's an insult to the mentally handicapped."

"You're an asshole. If you put it like that, it's not an insult to anyone!" she howled, punching him in the gut. Shin wheezed and buckled his knees, briefly winded before she turned away from him and growled, "And the only kind of 'easy' I am is easy on the eyes, so shove it!"

With that, she walked away. Shin growled under his breath something fierce, but it went unheard as he clutched frantically at his ribs. He scrambled to a stand, but as soon as he did, he found himself staring into the eyes of Palmon.

"You're not going to change back to the old Shin, are you?" Palmon asked sadly.

"No," Shin growled. "I'm not."

"So you'll always hate your brothers because you hunger for more love than they can give you, and scorn Mimi because she's not attracted to you?"

"Get the hell out of my face."

"I will in a min," Palmon said, taking one step closer to him. Shin backed up, feeling the intensity of her movements as the small green thing grew twice her size in aura. Though she was still the same pipsqueak, it was almost as if he could feel her malignant intent, an intent that echoed in the rugged growl of her voice. "First of all, I just want to warn you – if you _ever_ try to hit Mimi again, or if you ever do anything to hurt her – and that includes Joe and Shuu – you'll regret it. I don't care how powerful your partner is, I will squish Dracomon if I have to. I'm not afraid of him, or you.

"...Remember that for me, will you?"

.---.

"_You... want me to train with you?"_

_It was the first thing TK had said three months ago, when he realized he was going to train under Devimon. As far as the big dark lug was concerned, they were going to be teacher and pupil, sensei and grasshopper, jedi and padawan, guru and disciple, master and student. Student? Hah, Devimon mused, more like slave._

_Darkness etched into TK's hospital room, waving over the young boy's face. He was still sprawled out in his bed, too achy to move much other than a hand that he gingerly placed atop Kari's head. Devimon could tell by the boy's expression that he wanted to raise his voice, if not for Kari's sleeping stillness. The boy was a picture of restraint as he tenderly stared at her before running his fingers through her hair, biting down on his bottom lip in a thundercloud of thought. Patamon next to him was sleeping, leaving the two titans almost completely alone._

_Devimon was the last one TK had seen when he'd fallen unconscious, and the first one he'd seen when he'd woken up._

_At first, he was resilient. He'd almost screamed when he'd first seen the devil crouched over his semi-conscious body, staring eye-to-eye with the boy who'd taken his life. However, in the end, when TK realized he couldn't struggle against the monster who was now propositioning something that neither human nor partner saw coming, the boy had silenced himself. The ticking seconds must have sounded like detonating bombs in the hulking emptiness of his head._

"_It wasn't a question," Devimon snarled, nose wrinkling in aggression. "You _**will **_train with me."_

_TK didn't say anything in response._

_His fists clenched._

_His _**teeth**_ clenched._

_His muscles had tightened into granite, vessels swelling over skin._

_Knowing his physical incapability to move, TK begrudgingly stared down at Kari's sleeping figure. Devimon could only assume what was stirring in the young boy's mind, other than the almost overwhelming rage to tear Devimon in half. His body was shaking with that same rage, tearing at every pore in his body, every faucet of emotion, every memory that'd plagued him in the past few years of his life._

"_I know the face of this darkness," Devimon told him, his gaze gliding toward the window. Lightning dashed the sky in two, splitting it in streaks of red and blue that rumbled in the grayest depths of the clouds. A mist had fallen over Odaiba, the battle long-ceased but the storm still raging. In fact, the storm had vanished for much of the day and night, but with TK's awakening, it consumed the sky once more in its tsunami carnage. Devimon's eyes slanted, a hand resting over his bloodied shoulder where a wound gaped into his leathery flesh. TK stared for a moment before quickly looking away. "If anyone is going to take over the Digital World, it will be me, not the fools who will devour this world six months from now. You're weak, TK, weaker than you've ever been. You thought that with MaloMyotismon's defeat, this would all be over? That maybe you'd have some peace?"_

_TK's fingers dug into his bedsheets._

"_You thought wrong," Devimon growled. "There is no such thing as 'peace', not for you. I shouldn't have been able to do that to you." He nodded at TK's chest, where Devimon's arm had lanced right through bone and blood. TK winced merely at the nod, but Devimon only continued, "The Endless Ones... they are the monsters who've come to take over this world and the next. I know their faces, I know their pasts, I know their present. And now, I am the only one who can make you stronger than you thought you could ever be. I've already pounded that thought into Patamon's head, now it's time I pound it into yours."_

_TK's head snapped up, tears filling his eyes as he glared adamant spears that soared against Devimon's mind. His spine tingled with the anger almost radiating off of TK's body, an anger so deeply fluctuating that the boy couldn't even put it into words what he felt, an anger so strong it was ripping him up from the inside out. Devimon's lips curled into a sneer._

"_I have something to teach you that only you can learn from me," Devimon hissed. "And it will not be easy and in the end you will only hate me more, but it is something that may save the Digital World from destruction – because if you believe that the Endless Ones only wish to conquer both worlds, then you are a lot more naïve than I pegged you for."_

"_I—" TK began, only for a hoarse war-torn cry to fill his eardrums as Matt – just another shadow on the wall – soared through the room and jumped atop Devimon. He could hear Gabumon shout the beginning of his evolution, and Devimon could feel the wind of Garurumon's change fill him. Devimon knew Patamon and Kari wouldn't wake up from it – before Devimon had engaged with TK, he'd already laced their veins with sedatives. Wouldn't be a good thing if his jolly conversation was interrupted by the two. However, Matt and Gabumon were a completely different story – he hadn't factored in the darling little fool of an older brother. Devimon merely swatted Matt right into Gabumon's egg, interrupting the evolution and forcing the digimon to bounce backwards in surprise. It might have earned a sociopathic chuckle from Devimon if TK hadn't growled in frustration at that same second, his voice strained as he said, "I will NEVER train with you! I... I HATE you! You did this to me! YOU DID THIS TO ME." TK clutched at his bandages, his teeth clenched as he shook with that boiling hatred. "You killed Angemon, and it was your arms that the Emperor stole to finish his creation! I can't trust you! I won't!"_

"_You may hate me, boy," Devimon snarled, rushing through the room as he leaned toward TK, his nose nearly touching the boy's as they glared at each other. Heat and hate streamed between them, their eyes narrowed into insatiable stares that shook their souls and stopped all thoughts of movement not only from them, but from Matt and Gabumon. Devimon, fangs glinting eerily in the dim light peeking through the storm clouds, continued, "But right now, I am the only one who stands between you and unlocking a power that only your friends Davis and Kari have. If you don't want to fall behind, then it's time you let go of the past and focus on the future."_

"_Screw you! What do you know about that! It's not like you've ever done any good in your whole entire life!" TK's fist lurched forward, nearly quirking Devimon in the cheek. However, the leathery devil caught his knuckles and twisted his arm, causing TK to grimace before he pulled back his arm and pressured TK tighter to his bed. "I—"_

"_Am _**weak**_," Devimon finished for him. And just like that, TK had once again fallen dead quiet._

.---.

"You have the power of an _infant_." Pause. "_**Still**_."

Devimon's eyes mercilessly narrowed, his gaze following Patamon as the creature struggled to move toward Devimon. With a simple swing of his arm, Patamon flung backwards, the small digimon squealing angrily before lunging forward again. Devimon barely took note of it. He simply marched to the side and grabbed TK by the hair before the blond could come up behind him and grab him.

"Nice plan, terrible execution," Devimon hissed.

"Would you shut-up?!" TK growled, kicking Devimon in the stomach. The devil didn't even wince. Instead, he effortlessly tossed TK into Patamon, who screamed with rage.

"PATAMON DIGIVOLVE TO..."

Golden energy bunched up around him in sparking spades, forming a half-oval around him before Devimon launched himself into the air, a deep chuckle thrumming in his vocal chords as he grasped Patamon by the throat and halted the evolution.

"Don't be stupid, Patamon." Devimon wasn't impressed by his students. Normally, they weren't so stupid. In fact, they had quite a promising start. Yet, in the past day or so, it was as if they were afraid to attack him, as if they were afraid to _hurt_ him. Bullshit. Devimon's nose crinkled in disgust as he held the struggling rookie. "You _know_ you're at your most vulnerable as you're digivolving. That's why you have a human partner, to protect you as you level up. In fact, where was that little goldenchild?"

_**FFFFFT**_

Devimon winced as a double set of tungsten knuckles plunged into his spine, right at the weakest point of the vertebrae. He swiftly twisted around, grabbing TK's wrist before he could get in another hit and butter-churning the boy until he whammed into the top of Patamon's head.

_**WHAM**_

He picked up TK and hit Patamon with him _again_, like a whip.

"Little late for an entrance," Devimon said. "Patamon. Don't you even _think_ of digivolving again."

Patamon grumbled something under his breath and struggled to a stand. He was getting frustrated. Good. Devimon liked it when the idiots were frustrated – it made beating them up even more fun. Even if Patamon was theoretically stronger than him depending on the evolution, as Patamon, he was still weaker – and TK, as a human who hadn't yet activated his powers, couldn't do a damn thing about it. Even so, they'd made a lot of progress since three months ago.

In fact, today was an off-day. Or perhaps they only wanted to make Devimon think that.

"I'm going to beat you as Patamon," Patamon growled. Looking down at his hooves, his expression twisted into a determined frown, his mind captured by thoughts of strength and glory. Devimon smirked, amused, but also annoyed. When Patamon looked back up at the leathery anti-angel, he continued, "If I can beat you without using my sacrificing attack... if I can beat you without sealing you away as MagnaAngemon... if I can beat you without using Pegasusmon or Shakkoumon... then I can't even imagine the strength I'd have as those evolutions, being able to defeat a strong champion as a rookie."

"Hmph." Devimon's eyes fell half-lidded, his fists clenching as TK struggled to a stand. He stepped forward, a foot crunching down on TK's spine. The boy threw his head back in a rough hiss, but Devimon didn't show any concern. Leaning toward the rookie, he spat, "I don't know what I was thinking planting that thought in your head. A Patamon could never defeat a Devimon, not even in this universe. You'll always be a weakling who relies on cheap attacks like the one you used to kill me, the one that took your life in the process. And by that point, I'd already been worn down anyway – do you seriously think I would've died if I'd been at full power? Please."

Patamon grit his teeth, his body trembling in anger. Devimon could tell he was annoyed, not only by Devimon's goading but by the fact that he was holding down TK in such a malicious way. Patamon then snapped his attention back to the fierce malevolence of Devimon's glowing gaze, his own fury riveting within his spirit.

Patamon opened his mouth, his body leaning forward as he gathered the air to shout something. Devimon grinned smugly, knowing exactly what the digimon was going to say. Probably something about gaining enough strength to beat him, or about saving TK. Some stupid stuff like that, that only morons would believe.

Yet...

"Why do you always have to be so mean, Devimon?" Patamon huffed.

Devimon nearly tripped over TK in surprise.

"Wh—_what?_" the demon snarled.

"You could be nicer!" Patamon said. "I mean, I know we're mortal enemies and everything, but we both know I'm going to eventually be strong enough to beat you, even as a Patamon. Right now, you're just trying to get me fired-up, aren't you? It's not necessary."

In the mean time, TK looked up at Devimon with a sharp glare. The two caught each other's gaze, Devimon's eyes slanting in a frown as he watched the blond's expression dim. The scalding oranges and pinks of twilight spilled across the human's face, igniting the ferocity echoing in his baby blues. Devimon was almost mystified by the intensity of not only his stare, but the boy's mere presence, almost radiating with every fiber and every wrinkle of his body's unwillingness to lose to Devimon.

"You're not really going to attempt to conquer the Digital World after we stop the Endless Ones, are you?" Patamon asked from behind Devimon. In an instant, the battle stopped. Devimon's chest suddenly felt heavier, angrier, as he twisted around to view the small digimon. TK's gaze had also flickered to his partner, a hint of surprise glazing over them. Patamon's brow furrowed. "I mean, you're basically training us to be stronger than you, because you know the enemies we'll face are ten times your strength. If we can't even beat you, how can we expect to beat them? You're basically training us to defeat you, to always defeat you, because after this, there is no going back. Do you... you know... even want to go back? I mean, to the way things were?"

"Of course I want to go back to how things were, back when I was busting you up and pissing off blondie," Devimon hissed, removing his boot from TK's spine to instead heavily trudge forward. He hit Patamon atop the head with his elbow, knocking the unsuspecting digimon downward beside his partner. His teeth clenched, his voice a guttural growl. "I despise you weaklings. You have to rely on suicide attacks and last-minute power-ups to win, rather on actual skill and precision. It's disgusting."

"Those last-minute power-ups and suicide attacks have saved this world on more than one occasion," Patamon murmured from beside TK. Devimon's attack hadn't hurt him, though he did rub his head rather ruefully. "I don't see anyone else complaining."

"Oh please. You defeated MaloMyotismon with _dreams_." Devimon rolled his eyes.

"Dreams are powerful!"

"Yes, well, you know what dream I have?" Devimon snapped, moving toward the two as he generated several spheres of swirling purple energy in his palms. TK and Patamon instantly winced, knowing what was coming. Devimon then continued, "My dream is you two DEAD, and the world kissing my feet!"

_**psssshhhh**_

Just as Devimon was about shove his energy-sparking fists right into Patamon's chin, however, a spray of sand and soil splattered between him and his target. Immediately, without even seeing one of them move, TK had grabbed his wrist and redirected the attack backwards, forcing Devimon to upper-cut—

to upper-cut—

to upper-cut _**himself**_.

When the realization washed over Devimon and all that was left was a deep ache consuming his lower jaw, he glanced over to see TK's lips curled into a deep grin.

"My dream was always to avenge Patamon," TK said. It was the first time he'd spoken all day, or even all week for that matter. At least, he hadn't said a word to Devimon, other than the occasional s_hut-up _or _dieeeee evil doer!!!111!exclamation point_. Devimon mentally rolled his eyes. Perhaps it was because he noticed they hadn't yet defeated Devimon and three months had already passed, or maybe it was because he just wasn't interested in talking to the fiend, but TK had grown increasingly quiet. Either way, he certainly spoke now, his voice filled with a deep rumbling that cauterized with its mere tone. "My dream was to defeat darkness so that things like you can't hurt good creatures like Patamon or my brother. My dream _is_ to forever banish darkness, and _you_ are darkness, and _you_, in my mind, has always been the embodiment of evil. Not Myotismon, not the Emperor, not Apocalymon or any of our past enemies, even if nearly all of them were considerably stronger than you—" At this, Devimon have an audible grunt, then TK continued, "—In my mind, the face of darkness has always been yours, and it's a face I have always promised to destroy. You and me, training... this doesn't change a thing between us. In the end, you're only helping me kill you."

"Kill away, boy," Devimon hurled, lips creasing into a horizontal crescent. "I'm here because you're here, what are you going to do about it?"

"First, I'm going to beat you," TK said. "Then, I'm going to beat the Endless Ones." A beat. A smirk. "And last, I'm going to send you to DigiHell."

"TK..." Patamon's eyes swiveled between the two enigmatic forces, the wielder of hope and the wielder of darkness, before he sighed and lowered his gaze. Devimon could tell he was upset, not only by Devimon's refusal of "playing nice", but also TK's unwillingness to forgive Devimon for his past evil deeds. TK was a very forgiving guy, someone who you could rely on if you needed help, but Devimon was different from all the other enemies he'd ever faced.

Devimon was not only the _first_ evil he'd ever fought, but he was the only one to have ever taken the life of one of TK's precious ones. That memory alone stuck with TK for years, and finally, he was able to take out his aggression that he'd felt for so long but didn't know how to deal with. Devimon smiled at the thought, of that poor little boy growing up with so much rage and bloodthirstiness, but never allowed to let it out. Not until he watched as the Digimon Emperor stole a part of Devimon's body to complete his ungodly creature, not until he faced a digimon in the shape of a virus-entwined WarGreymon. Even then, TK had only skimmed the surface of his problems, never fully duking them out with either himself or his friends or even his enemies. He'd told himself over and over again, Devimon was sure, that he wasn't that angry at darkness, that he had it all under control, that he knew how to handle it. But Devimon knew there was something else there, something deeper than flesh, than blood, than heart. It had plagued TK for so long, the dark digimon was completely sure it had marred even TK's soul with its ugly scars.

TK, despite being the bearer of hope, was quite the ruthless guy, though even he himself hadn't realized it yet. Devimon knew. Devimon could sense it, bubbling up inside him. TK always had a fierce vengeance toward the forces of darkness, but Devimon—

Just as Myotismon was Gatomon's greatest enemy, Devimon was TK's. Devimon was Patamon's. Devimon was the face of their fears. And finally, the face of their fears had physically manifested. He was no longer some giant standing at the gateway to the World of Darkness, he was no longer a gory nightmare, he was _real_ (digital, but real), he was flesh, he was blood, he was fang.

And TK wanted to send him to a place that'd make him scream, just as TK screamed when he'd first lost Angemon. Devimon couldn't blame him. In fact, it was that fury that Devimon congratulated.

"DigiHell, huh?" Devimon mused. "Sounds like fun. I've been staring at your ugly mug for two straight minutes, what could be worse?"

"Staring at your ugly mug for one straight minute?"

"Ooo, touché."

He flipped TK over on his back and kicked the butt of his vertebrae, causing the human to skid forward until Patamon caught him. Without saying a word, the two rebounded and double-sockerpunched Devimon right in the face. He barreled backwards grinning, knowing exactly what was to come next.

It was time for them to grow stronger.

It was time that they gained the strength to beat him, without evolutions, without power-ups, but out of unrelenting, unyielding _power_. Because if Patamon could defeat him as a Patamon, and TK could defeat him without unlocking his hidden powers, then Devimon couldn't even imagine just how powerful they would become once those evolutions were tapped into.

_Yes, TK, learn ruthlessness, _Devimon thought, dodging a combined attack by the human and his partner. Devimon had ordered them not to take lessons under Cody or Ken, believing their techniques to be complete idiocy. He didn't want TK or Patamon to enter the army and be trained by Gennai's organization, which took care of Digimon-Human Relations. _He_ was going to train TK and Patamon, because no one could teach them the art of ruthlessness except Devimon. _Learn ruthlessness, so I can teach you how to _**control**_ ruthlessness. You're not going to survive one hour against the Endless Ones without it._

Patamon threw an attack at him, his voice ringing out in the sunset air as Devimon tossed a counterattack over his shoulder. However, in the bright blast of light, TK came busting through the smoke and seized Devimon by the shoulders. Patamon had veered at some point to come up behind him, powers bursting from his tiny body as Devimon turned to stare TK right in the eye.

_Not knowing how to unleash the cosmic abilities both Kari and Davis harness must eat you up inside,_ Devimon thought, staring into his enemy's eyes. For a minute, it seemed like Patamon's attack ceased, like TK wasn't moving, like the _world_ wasn't moving, like the _world's_ attack ceased. And the two stared. And watched. And examined. _But you contain something else, hidden deep inside you. If there wasn't anything, I wouldn't have chosen you – but as it is, I know you have the power to do this, because everyday, I see myself in not only you, but especially in Patamon. You may not end up as I have, but I have always been one of the strongest champions to have ever walked the Digital World. I am no normal Devimon. And you, TK and Patamon, are no normal Destined. Together, you and I will get stronger, and we will defeat my master._

Patamon's attack struck.

Struck hard.

.---.

"_Seraphimon...?" At the time, Devimon was still pure, kindhearted, and the grand general of Seraphimon's army. Back then, he wasn't Devimon. He was an Angemon and the strongest of all angel-types beside the Three Holy Angels themselves. Well, and perhaps Ophanimon's own grand general, MagnaAngemon. Devimon – or, at the time, Angemon – remembered looking out over the palace balcony, at the sky stained with blood-red pink rimmed with gold. Beauty soothed from the sky with an almost enigmatic twinge, calming both heart and soul._

_Standing out on the balcony was Seraphimon, who stared off into nothingness as his palms rested against the railing. He watched, and watched, and watched, yet Angemon said nothing, and Seraphimon didn't reply. Instead, the angel-type turned toward Angemon and tilted his head._

"_Tell me, Angemon, how far would you follow me?" Seraphimon's voice was rough, deep, gnarled._

"_To the ends of the world, sir," Angemon said back with a confident nod. He smiled warmly at his master, who watched him from beyond the confinements of his teal helmet. Angemon crossed his arms and looked off into the dusk, his smile only widening as he thought back to their many memories together. "Though you rose above me in the end, we grew up together, Seraphimon. I can't imagine leaving you alone."_

"_Even if it meant being in the same room as MagnaAngemon, constantly?"_

_Ooo, that made the choice a hell of a lot harder. It didn't take much to realize how into himself MagnaAngemon was, and everyone knew that the duo of generals weren't the best of friends. There was a rumor going around of a prophecy, a prophecy that stated one of the generals would help save the universe, while the other would help destroy the universe. At the time, Angemon thought nothing of it. Fake prophecies popped up all the time, and he doubted he was so important as to have a prophecy about him. Only figures like the Enigma Lords and the Golden-Haired, Hawk-Eyed Human were bestowed ancient prophecies – and even then, the prophecies were almost always misleading._

"_Even if it meant being in the same room as MagnaAngemon. Constantly." Angemon's voice added a tinge of strain._

"_Good." Seraphimon's lips suddenly twitched. Angemon's brow furrowed, however, Seraphimon merely folded his arms and leaned forward, one hand gripping the top of his helmet. For a second, Angemon thought his master was about to slide it off, only for the hand to lurch forward and grab Angemon by the chin. He didn't lift or painfully pressure it, he simply held it. His hand felt hot, like lava, and seared Angemon's skin, causing the angel to wince and attempt to back away. However, Seraphimon merely chuckled and gripped harder, his fingers growing coarser, rougher, calloused, as rubbery tubercles and tendons flexed out from his sides, peeling back armor and wing. Each feather began to curdle and taint into a withered maroon, then a melted black that dripped to the palace floor. As Angemon heaved and tried to tear himself away, Seraphimon said in a voice that shook the very marrow of Angemon's bones, __**"Would you follow me, even if it meant selling your soul?"**_

.---.

"The aether is shifting," Devimon told TK and Patamon later that night. Patamon was hurrying to get together their stuff, so they could get home before Ms. Takaishi got too worried. However, TK stayed behind temporarily, just to get warmed up by the campfire Devimon began. All three of them were beaten and bruised, their lips and eyes swollen and hued blackish-blue. TK's right eye was even swelled shut, and Devimon had a cut large enough to extend down his chin. Regardless, he glanced up at the night sky, his voice echoing enough to catch the blond's attention. His eyes narrowed. "The shifting aether... the mercurial winds of alteration... It is time that one helps save the worlds from a timeless, faceless evil, while the other helps to plunge the worlds into oblivion."

"Huh?" TK asked, scooting just a few inches closer. He wrapped a blanket tighter around himself as he snuggled closer to the fire, the heat licking his skin as his gaze strayed from Devimon to instead look deeper into the glistening white-hot coals. "Hey, Patamon, you almost done over there? I still have to contact the president of DigiCorp. before he blows his top off about..." His voice trailed off, but Devimon was still concentrating on the sky above them. He could feel gales press against his back, his hands clenching with anticipation as night drew longer.

Devimon stared into the sky and the dark, stirring cumulus that filled it.

"Storm's forming," Devimon said. TK and Patamon blinked up at him, then up at the clouds in the sky. Though it was night, they, too, suddenly realized just how menacing those clouds looked. Devimon merely grinned. "Time to say hello to old friends, and goodbye to new friends. Geneva... the Enigma Lords, and the Council...

"...Soon, everything will change."

.---.

"I'm afraid." His voice grazed past her ear as she struggled to sit up out of bed. She blinked over at the boy, who stood staring outside her window at the gathering bedim that covered the moon in growing splendor. Already, she could taste the humidity each cloud formed, even from within her room. The boy reached forward to pop open the double-pane window, his palms thrusting against the rim as he leaned toward the wind and pressed his face to the moist air. She watched him close his eyes, his muscles tense, his soul tenser.

She bit her bottom lip and looked away from him.

She didn't want to tell him that she was afraid, too – but then again, with everything they'd been through, he probably knew exactly how she felt, just as she'd known how he felt even without his confirmation. She twisted around to view him, tendrils of worry wriggling around her chest like iron clamps. Without any struggle, she swung her legs out from over the side of her bed and planted them on the plush copper carpet of her room.

"What if I can't stop them?" he asked her. No, he wasn't only asking her, he was asking _himself_. She smiled sadly, unsure how to answer it. He was always so strong, so _headstrong_, an unstoppable force that barreled past the dangers and leaped into the thick of the fight without a single concern. He was a wall, a gallop, a fierce and untouchable stallion that rode on the winds of destiny.

"Davis..." she breathed, her hand reaching out to lightly brush his shoulder blade. He shuddered at her touch, his teeth clenching as he closed his eyes and felt the breeze soothe against his face. She swallowed hard, not knowing whether she should've hugged him or talked to him or somehow comforted him – she didn't know how to. All she knew was that he'd mastered four types of strenuous training and had managed to even take on Gatomon, who was probably one of the strongest digimon out of Earth's digital protectors, without any assistance from Veemon. It was something he'd done not only because he wanted to get strong enough to protect her and his other precious ones, but it was something he'd done because he didn't want to be weak, he didn't want to lose, he didn't want to be—

to be lonely again.

"What if... what if I'm not good enough?" His fingernails dug into the window frame, creating centimeter-sized crescents in the wood. Her hand continued to lightly touch his shoulder blade, lingering, before he swiftly turned to her, his eyes opening to reveal their deep rich brown hue. He gripped her hand in his, his free arm extending to wrap her closer to him, pressing against her back as she stared up at him. "We promised to fight the storm and wind... but... what if we can't? Kari—"

She rested her hand on his chin. His eyelids fluttered for a few seconds, as if surprised, before he lightly smiled. She only smiled back, gripping his chin delicately with her hand before pulling his face toward her own. Without hesitation, she felt the warmth of him against her; of his nose grazing her own, of his gaze, of his lips.

When she pulled away from him she said, "Don't let it take over you, Motomiya."

His eyes momentarily widened. She was sure he was remembering one of the first things he'd said to her in order to encourage her to hold on despite the Overlord's guttural voice's attempts to make her lose herself. He'd said, _Don't let it take over you, Kamiya. Never let that beast defeat you!_ She didn't need to echo his words for him to get exactly what she meant, it went without saying how much she believed in him, and how much he'd grown to believe in her.

"No storm lasts forever," Kari whispered. "Someday, the storm will calm, and things will be peaceful again."

Davis stared at her for what felt like a long time. It was only when she closed her eyes and rested her cheek against his chest that he smiled back, his fingers entangling in her hair as he slacked his neck, placing his chin atop her head. They were quiet for a while, her ear listening to the solemn thump-thump of his heart raging against his torso.

_I love how I make his heart beat,_ she thought with a silent giggle. She felt his arms tighten before nodding off standing, the chilly breeze sweeping her hair and pressing against the back of her neck.

"You're right," he told her in a semi-wheezy voice. "We'll kick some ass in three months. We won't work our butts off for nothing."

_It's been a while since I could relax like this._ She thought about Gatomon earlier that day, returning home after sparring with Davis. She'd been hit by her own Lightning Paw about three times, but she'd managed to claw him up pretty bad. Veemon had to bandage up Davis, though Gatomon was left to putting an icepack on several parts of her body for a good solid two hours. Even so, it wasn't only Gatomon and Davis who were training their hardest. Tai and Agumon had left for the past two months in order to travel the world, talking and planning with army forces around the world to prepare for the Endless Ones' coming. He and his partner were also seen working with the Poi Brothers, who'd become world-renown martial artists in the past year, before Tai moved on to training with Catherine and her grandfather in France, learning how to fly helicopters and fire weaponry with his partner.

However, though Davis, Veemon, and Gatomon wore many accomplishments upon their shoulders in the past three months, it was Kari who'd worked the hardest of them all. While TK and Patamon were giving their all giving up their pride in order to train with their greatest enemy and rival, Kari had traveled to the Digital World to work under Gennai in order to contact the Beings of Light. As a supposed "Host of Light" (as Gennai called her, someone who could handle the mental and spiritual strain of being possessed by such a cosmic entity), Kari had to better herself ruthlessly the past three months in order to train, to _be_ emotionally ready for the trip ahead of her: contacting the almighty World of Light, which contained the strongest and greatest of beings. It was from the World of Light that the Dream Realm branched out (a plane of existence MaloMyotismon had tried to use to his advantage), it was a world that harnessed the power of the Zenith Gate, which protected the strongest and greatest of the Digital World's rulers.

_Training with Gennai..._ _it's been exciting, horrifying, straining... but it's worth it, if it means contacting the Beings of Light._

But she wasn't able to do it, at least not yet.

Gennai told her she wouldn't be able to contact them for months, possibly _years_. Even he, the great wiseman of the Digital World, a conundrum to man and mon alike, wasn't able to contact the Beings of Light. _"His_ kind" wasn't welcomed in their land, because he didn't have the heart of a child like Kari still did. Not that she was a child mentally or physically or even emotionally, but in her heart, in her soul, she bore the dreams and light of children around the globe. For that reason, it was her destiny to contact the Beings of Light.

She remembered asking Gennai, _"What if I don't contact them in time?"_

"_You won't,"_ Gennai had told her. _"But that is why I'm teaching you how to now, so that when you are ready, when _**they**_ are ready, you may unite with the greatest forces of the universe, and somehow put this senseless fighting to an end. The World of Light is a beautiful place incomprehensible to beings like you and I, and because of this, they do not worry about the chaos that surrounds our plane of existence. We are mere ants, and tell me Kari, do you worry about every anthill you come across?"_

Kari smiled at him before responding, _"When Tai and I were little, he used to take a hose and drown their hills when they tried to make 'em in our yard. I used to yell at him when he did it, but he'd just laugh and tell me I was being silly."_

"_There are many Earths and many Digital Worlds, but there is only one World of Light,"_ Gennai told her. _"Right now, they can't bother to help us. But if you gather the ability to contact them, even if it seems like it may be too late, they will hear you out as one of their rare hosts. They will label you as worthy of their attention, but I warn you, Kari Kamiya. Contacting the Beings of Light has consequences. Before, you'd been possessed by an acquaintance of mine who helped us conjure the ability to summon humans to the Digital World. However, the beings you may come across will not be friends of mine, and they will not go easy on you. Beings of Light are meant to command and to be followed, not seen, not heard, not felt or known. Even I, as great as I am—"_ Gennai cockily grinned, _"—cannot comprehend the immensity of their power. There is not a creature still alive that has heard a Being of Light, much less seen or felt. All who know their presence either die or turn insane, but that is a responsibility that only you can carry on your shoulders. Are you willing to risk that?"_

As Kari felt Davis tighten his grip around her, knowing the both of them would safely get through this journey and come out kicking, she grinned. She wasn't afraid of anything, not of death, not of insanity, not of losing to the Endless Ones. She wanted to protect Davis, to protect Gatomon and Tai and TK and all the others, all the worlds and dimensions, no matter what. She also knew that only she could do this, and she wasn't afraid.

"_Yes,"_ she'd told Gennai after their rigorous training. _"I can feel our dimension withering away as each day goes by. I know we don't have much time left before the Endless Ones change everything, but I'm not going to be afraid anymore. I promised Davis that he would never be lonely again, just as he promised me that he would never let me love and lose – that includes not only him, but my other precious ones. I am willing to fight my fears, and I know I'll make it out in the end. The Beings of Light won't take my sanity, my life, or my light, because..._

"_We – I, my friends, my acquaintances, my strangers, my enemies, every_**thing**_ and every_**one**_ – can take anything the forces of evil throw at us. United, we will take 'em on, and we will _**win**_."_


End file.
